Kicks
by RiversDontBreak
Summary: Set after Vol. 2 and there is a playlist to go with this, just pm me for it. Darsca is a badass with a past that's lead her to live life as a one-woman army that refuses to show her true face. Til she meets the Guardians and finds a family and sorts out her issues with her ACTUAL family that started her on the crusade to be the best at the cost of never letting people in
1. Money For Nothing

Darsca Xandahlia landed her ship on the edge of the mountains and then crept toward the entrance of the caverns. Lord Terrack kept all his prisoners in the caves behind his palace. They were scarcely caves anymore, more like a network of underground cells in what once had been caves. The mouth of the underground prison glowed with the unending florescent lights that lined every ceiling. There was no darkness to hide in. Fortunately for her she had never relied on darkness to hide. She was walking up a long ravine that lead to the side of the mountain by the cave's opening when she heard footsteps behind her. She turned, staring in shock and annoyance as five beings walked around a bend in the ravine behind her.

"You've got to be kidding" she groaned, facing them.

The five all raised their weapons.

"Who are you?" the human asked.

"Well, seeing as the Misfits of the Galaxy need no introduction that is a fair question" she did a mocking bow with an eyebrow arched sarcastically at them. "I'm Darsca Xandahlia, professional ass-kicker and part-time bounty hunter," she said "is that answer enough Star-Serf" she gave a smug grin and then turned to continue down the canyon. She sensed the rodent moving to fire at her and ducked, slid towards them, pulling his weapon free from him and standing over him with it. "Nice try bandit hamster" she laughed.

"Why are you here?" Gamora said coming towards her, she was prepared to kill this woman if need be, but she didn't seem evil, so she didn't bring out her sword just yet.

"To rescue the princess and collect the booty for doing so"

"What princess?"

"Princess Alessori Danai of Marahcka" she said, "her father hired me."

"Well that's weird," Peter said sarcastically "because he hired us to do the same thing" he did not believe that she spoke the truth.

"What did he look like?" she asked him.

"Kall, had a beard, wore a tall turban" he replied.

"You're dumber than you look Star-Serf, and that's saying a lot" she snarked. "It's death to look upon the face of the Grand High King of Marahcka, and Marahkai can't grow beards anyways." She turned away again "nice to know that y'all may be slightly better than me in a fight, but that I'm still" she paused for effect "apparently smarter than all five of you combined" she sauntered further down the canyon.

"So what do we do?"

"Well we don't let that smartass little piece of work take our job, I don't care who hired us" Rocket exclaimed.

"He does have a point" Gamora added, "money is money, are we really that picky about where it's coming from?"

"I thought we were the good guys?" Pete asked, slightly appalled at how mercurial his friends were being.

"So, who says she isn't a bad guy?" Rocket pointed at her retreating figure.

"Because she's Darsca Xandahlia, that's why the damn Novacor hires her to extract hostages and infiltrate hostile situations. She may be a mouthy little bitch but she gets the job done, and she's not ever worked for a bad guy that I know of."

"Peter's right," Gamora said "if she's working for a villain, she'll need our help. She hasn't gotten intergalactically famous for taking just any bounty job out there. She does them right, and for the right people."

"So you're tellin' me we're actually gonna go help that thing that just called me a bandit hamster?"

"Yup," Pete said "hell, I might help her just because she called you one" he gave Rocket a grin and then walked on, hearing the raccoon mutter under his breath.

Darsca was scaling the canyon wall when they came up behind her.

"You're not letting this go?" she said with a huff.

"Actually, we're here to help," Gamora said.

"Seriously? I think I liked it better when the rodent was trying to shoot me" she quipped. "I don't need help," she said pulling herself up to another standing space on a cranny on the canyon wall.

"Well like it or not we're coming," Peter said.

"And what do we do when payday comes around? you gonna split the bounty with me if I'm wrong and your guy is credible?"

Peter paused and looked at Gamora.

"Yup," he said, "But only if you agree to do the same should the unlikely event of us being wrong should happen."

Darsca's hazel eyes searched Peter and Gamora's faces, then she looked to the other three below them, following up the ravine's walls. She reached down her hand to Peter "deal" she said as he reached up and took hers. She pulled him up to the next foothold on the cliff wall. The four scrambled up while Groot and Rocket climbed with ease. They would have used their rocket suits but didn't want to alert Terrack to their presence.

"So who's going in there?" Rocket asked as the six of them stood at the entrance to the caves. Mantis was still aboard the ship with Kraglin, ready to hightail it and extract the team should the situation require it.

"I am," Darsca said with a grin.

"No, not alone" Peter demanded.

"Listen, if I'm to give up half my bounty to you guys, I should at least get to have all the fun" she grinned.

"That's another thing, whose buyer are we going to first? yours or ours?" Gamora asked.

"If I don't make it back," she said walking over to Peter and taking the Zune out of his holster, she scrolled through the playlists "before this song is over we can go to your buyer first" she grinned and clicked play on a track titled Money for Nothing.

"It's an eight-minute song" he protested as she sauntered into the caverns, flipping her hair and then suddenly her look changed, she looked like one of Terrack's guards. The control to her hologram disguise was on the back of her neck. She kept Solo around mainly for company and to make sure that her look never started faltering. People could never know what she actually looked like.

The Guardians watched as she strode into the prisons like she owned them. Two minutes later they heard screams and shots from the inside. They moved to go inside the cavern cells but from the back of the row of cells they saw her, in her normal form and dress, wielding a katana in one hand and a laser pistol in the other, she cartwheeled and took out two guards, flipping upright again she shot four more and put her blade through a fifth. They watched, impressed, and some a little frightened. They also were puzzled by the docile, blue-skinned, six-armed seemingly female creature that followed behind her.

With a final shot, she took out the last two guards and strode up to the Guardians. She went and took the Zune out of Peter's belt loop and looked at it "dammit, she muttered, I lost the bet by thirty seconds" she groaned. A thunderous sound came from above as thirty-one man crafts all lined up to stop their exiting with the freed six-armed princess. "This is what I get for hooking up with high profile characters," she said drawing her pistol.

"And you're not high profile?" Peter asked rhetorically.

"Fair enough," she said as she aimed at the lead craft and took out its pilot with a skilled shot through the glass. Peter flipped on his rocket suit and Drax lept at the lowest craft. Groot reached viny tentacles towards the ships and gripping one he pulled it down and slammed it to the ground. "Let's do this" Darsca said, sending Solo to knacker the targeting systems on the ships. Her aerial droid was the closest thing she allowed in her solitary life to a friend. She shot down two more ships, keeping the princess behind her at all times, using herself as a human shield. Then Kraglin showed up, Gamora having contacted him. The Guardians fought off the enemy ships as they got onto their own.

Gamora got the princess and escorted her onto the ship.

"Come on!" Pete yelled as Darsca still stood, firing shots into the belly of the ten ships that remained. She couldn't hear him for the roar of the engines and the crashing of the crafts she sent to the ground. He flipped his rockets back on, grabbed her, and flew back onto the ship, the gate closing as they lay in the bay.

"You actually are sticking to the bet?" she asked, she was sincerely puzzled.

"What? yeah" Pete said catching his breath.

"I thought for sure you guys were just going to leave me and take the princess and cash in on the reward for yourselves" she looked over at him not sure what to make of him, or any of his compatriots for that matter.

"We may be scoundrels, but we're not backstabbers," he said, a tone of offense in his voice.

"Speak for yourself Star-munch" Rocket said casting Darsca a nasty glare.

"Be nice trash panda" he snarked back. "Where's the princess?" he asked as Gamora came into the ramp area where they were still sitting.

"She's fine, I put her with Mantis, thought she might help our royal guest calm down a bit" Gamora looked at Darsca with her penetrating glance that tried to tell everything she could about a person in a look. Something felt off. Not that Darsca wasn't a trustworthy person, but more like she wasn't being completely forthright.

"I don't suppose you guys could pick up my ship before we blast out of here? it's rather small, it could fit in this boarding area where we're sitting now."

"Afraid not," Gamora said as they left the planet's atmosphere.

"Oh well, I needed a new one anyway"

"I am Groot," the tree said for about the fifth time though this was the first time Darsca had had the time to pay attention. The young organic was pointing to her personal droid.

"He wants to know what it is" Pete explained.

"It's my personal droid, his name is Solo," she said. She took him in her hands and held him out towards Groot. The tree looked it over and then looked at her. She moved away, she felt uncomfortable being looked at so closely by so many people. Gamora made her more nervous than most.

"And what about your shapeshifting?" Pete asked "pretty legit" he commented.

"It is, I can use Solo as an external harddrive, we share a mental link, so I decide who I want to look like, he downloads the data and reprograms my body holograph" she reached the button on the back of her neck and shifted into Gamora "and then he backs it up so it never fails me" she changed back into the pale Xandarian with whitish blonde hair and hazel eyes.

"So how do we know you're actually the real Darsca Xandahlia?" Drax asked.

"Because I just single-handedly rescued a princess from an overlord's cavern cells in less than ten minutes," she remarked with a smug grin.

"Fair" Peter said with a nod. "Is anyone else hungry? I'm starving" he commented to bring the conversation to a close. He liked Darsca, he really did, but something felt wrong all the same like she was hiding something. Maybe it was just the fact that with tech like hers, you could never truly know if the person you were talking to was the real Darsca or one of the various faces she decided to wear. They could wake up the next morning and she could be looking like Drax for all they knew. Too much power and too much mystery.


	2. Dancing With Myself

She sat alone to the side, seemingly having a mental conversation with Solo. Dinner had gone passably well considering as Rocket was still determined to go to his grave disgruntled with her for calling him a bandit hamster, he wasn't even certain what a hamster was. Groot came over but she couldn't quite understand what his repeated 'I am Groot's meant, but she appreciated his concern nonetheless.

"So where do I sleep?" she asked stretching out her arms. The hologram flickered for a moment, like a television station having a moment's static.

"Outside" Rocket said in a surly voice.

"No" Pete said rolling his eyes "there's a couch, I can't say how clean it is" he said leading her to it, whereupon she promptly flopped onto it, a small poof of dust coming off the cushions.

"Thanks, Quill" she said, her face half buried into the arm.

"Hey" he said as he moved to leave the little den where the couch was "don't let Rocket get to you too much"

"I don't" she said with a laugh " I think he's hilarious."

Peter chuckled and flipped the light off in the room as he left. He didn't feel terribly sleepy so he went to Kraglin and offered to take over piloting for a while. He sat there in silence, dozing a bit here and there. He heard a scuffling noise that roused him, but after opening one eye he saw it was just Rocket walking towards the den. He fell back to sleep. Not a minute later he heard shouts and a laser pistol fire. Jumping out of the chair he ran to the sound. When he reached the den Darsca, or he at least assumed it to be her, was leaning over Rocket, her katana at his throat. Instead of pale blonde, her hair was a medium hue, like his almost, and her eyes were deep set and a dark blue. The face was even different, thick but still with pronounced cheekbones.

"Drop it asshole or I'll carve you a new one" she said venomously while Peter took a moment to observe the different looking version of her that had his friend, probably deservedly, pinned to the floor.

"What the hell is going on?" Peter said.

"Your pet has broken my one rule" she said standing up and sending Rocket across the floor with a swift shove of her foot after she took the disc from his hand. She placed it back on her neck and her usual Xandarian pale blonde appearance returned. "No one gets to know what I look like" she heaved a sigh. This was why she didn't try to make friends, life alone was better than people prying trying to scratch out her secrets. She moved past them both, walking straight into Kraglen. "Sorry" she muttered.

"What happened?" Kraglin asked in confusion.

"Rocket doesn't know how to play nice" Peter said sounding like an exasperated parent.

"What? didn't you want to know what she actually looked like?" he asked as his defense. Peter just stormed out. He felt a little disgusted with his friend at the moment. He went to try and smooth things over with Darsca, but she wasn't to be found. He looked at the case for space suits and found that one was missing. He put another on and went outside the ship. She trailed the ship, unattached for all he could see. He rocketed over to her.

"What are you doing?"

"Maybe your rodent friend is right, I should sleep outside" she said in a voice still laden with anger.

"You'll go adrift out here," Peter said, "are you insane?"

"There'd be no fault if I was, but no, I won't go adrift, Solo is still on board, and all I have to do is turn on this magnet" she said showing him her left hand and what it held "and it will pull me straight to the nearest metal object, which happens to be your ship." She looked at it and then back to him with a small grin "Besides, the spacesuits are significantly cleaner than your craft" she teased.

They both laughed.

"So what's the big deal about people seeing you?" he asked as they trailed behind the ship slowly.

"There's a lot of things, anonymity is beautiful, no one gets hurt if no one knows who you are... and no one can hurt you either" she looked at the expanse of space around them.

"What about your friends? family?" he asked.

She laughed a joyless laugh "I don't have one and actively try to avoid the one family member I have. That's part of the reason for the disguise" she sighed. Why was she telling this ego-ridden stranger these things? Probably because deep down he felt familiar, she thought, they were two pieces of the same cloth it seemed. Thrill-seeking space badasses with big mouths... except he had friends. She continued looking out at space around them, trying to stay peaceful.

"Well that's good to know" she shot him a startled and almost angry look "I thought maybe you were just really ugly, like that princess we rescued, and that's why you went around with the holographic mask on all the time" he chuckled.

"You're an asshole" she said laughing and gave his arm a light punch.

"I know" he said still chuckling. "What do you say you come back in?"

"Your rodent won't pester me?"

"Well, he can't if I take the couch and you take my room, there's locks on the door" he offered.

"I can't take your room" she protested.

"And I'm not going to have you fall asleep and get lost in deep space, so come on," he said putting and arm around her shoulder and propelling her back into the ship "in you go."

He showed her the room and after saying goodnight went and found the couch for himself and crashed, trusting Kraglin to have the helm.

He woke up to Gamora standing over him.

"What?" he asked, raising his head from the pillows on the couch, drool trailing from his mouth to the cushions.

"Why aren't you in your room?"

He paused for a second, clearing the fuzz of sleep from his brain.

"Gave it to Darsca" he explained sitting up with a yawn.

"I know that, but why?" she asked.

"Rocket pissed her off, took her hologram off her neck while she was sleeping" he yawned again "she damn near took his tail for it" he stood up.

"Well it was nice of you" she said giving him one of her small smiles "and she's making breakfast so here's hoping she's a better cook than you" she teased.

"When was the last time you cooked something Gamora?" he countered and she huffed.

When everyone had sat down, she passed the bowl of hot cereal right over Rocket's head to Groot. "Starve muskrat" she shot at him.

"What is wrong with her?" Drax asked Gamora.

"Rocket doesn't know how to behave himself" she replied glaring across the table at him.

"And princess asshat over there don't know how to trust people" he countered "like who goes around all day not looking like themselves, and even goes to bed in a mask? Tell me I'm not the only one that thinks that's weird"

"Says the angry raccoon with a gun fetish" Darsca said with a glare. "Seriously, the most normal person in this room is Groot, and he's a goddamn talking tree!"

"I am Groot" he said proudly.

"She does have a point" Gamora said with a shrug.

"I am perfectly normal" Drax said calmly at the end of the table. They all just looked at him like he wasn't quite right in the head.

"You can't tell me there isn't one of you that doesn't have some secrets" she said getting up from the table and moving to a less occupied part of the ship. She found that even the cockpit wasn't free of others, Kraglin sat there, listening to some song she didn't know and humming along. She sat against the wall, some of her agitation wearing away with the catchy number that was playing.

"What's this song?" she asked.

"I don't know, it's one of Quill's" he said looking over at her.

"It's catchy" she said tapping her foot and getting up and spontaneously dancing. The lyrics fit her, she usually ended up 'dancing with myself' but she had made it not bother her. People didn't trust her because she didn't even trust them with her face, but she still made a living and made herself smile. She laughed as she rocked out, doing a spin and then sliding across the floor.

"You know it?" Peter asked. He had shown up in the doorway and couldn't help but smile as she got jiggy with the great beat.

"First time hearing it, but I love it" she said smiling.

"Maker help us" Drax said softly to Gamora "there are two of him now."

Gamora only shook her head and nodded.

"Just wait til you hear this one?" he said going over and queuing up another song. She nodded her head getting into the beat. It was a fast tempo-ed song and Pete knew the chances of Gamora dancing with him in front of everyone were nil. "dance with me?" he held out his hands. He trusted Gamora to understand he was just being friendly, not trying to make a pass at their reluctant guest.

Darsca hesitated, she looked at Gamora who just shrugged with a soft smile. Drax looked revolted, and Rocket was sulking with Groot for company so they weren't around. Mantis and the princess were still at breakfast. "Sure" she said and gave him her hands.

"You need to dance more," he said leading her in the upbeat tempo.

"I dance plenty, just usually alone" she explained.

"That's only half as fun" he spun her out and back in with a cheery grin.

"I'm seeing that," she said.

After a half hour of dancing, Darsca had improved vastly and they were both out of breath. A weirdly soft-tempoed love song came on and she and Peter looked at each other and then shouted across the room to Kraglin in unison "next!" he hit the next track. Another frustratingly slow song came on.

"Fine" she said with a huff, blowing the hair that had fallen into her face out of it. Even her holographic hair got in the way sometimes. "Dance with me" she said pulling Kraglin out of the captain's chair and giggling at his discomfited expression. He was practically flailing as he tried to find her waist to put his hand there. Peter was trying to laugh silently and failing as he watched the Ravager act like a sixth grader at his first dance. Gamora came back in from wherever she had left to and looked at the scene, cracking a small smile. It was a hilarious sight, the scrawny awkward man who looked like he had no idea what to do with his hands and the ridiculously smug woman who was trying so hard not to laugh.

"Thanks" she said and just to see his reaction gave him a kiss on the cheek. He croaked out words that weren't even words and then beat a retreat back to his chair.

"That" she said sitting down on the floor by Quill "was hilarious" she chuckled, "you thought I needed to dance more, I don't think the poor man knows how. You should teach him?" she ribbed Peter.

"Shut up," he said giving her arm a push, it was a little stronger than he intended and tipped her right over. She laughed after the initial surprise passed and so did he. Gamora, a little annoyed with their immaturity went over to Kraglin to make sure he didn't think they meant any harm with the joke.

"No ma'am," he said simply "I'd have thought it was damn funny too," he said giving a smile "had it, not been me and all, y'know" he replied. "If I had just been like watching or something."

"Well, they meant no harm" she reassured him.

"I know that," he said as though surprised that she thought he didn't. "And it was kinda nice," he said in a soft embarrassed voice. Gamora gave his shoulder a squeeze as a kindly gesture and walked away to check on Mantis and the princess.


	3. Owner of a Lonely Heart

The ship's fuel was running low, an embarrassing predicament given that it was entirely Rocket's oversight that had put them in the situation where there was no backup fuel onboard. They made a pitstop on a small lunar outpost of a larger system.

The fueling dock was full so they landed and idled around, waiting for the vessels ahead of them to charge their cores and refill with fuel. Peter naturally wandered to see the sites of the little city they had stopped in, Gamora went with him, mainly to make sure he didn't get lost or distracted and make it harder to find him, and Drax went along too. Groot and Darsca stayed in the ship with Kraglin, and of course Mantis and the princess didn't even show their faces. Mantis would have liked to look around, but she understood that protecting the princess was the highest priority. Besides, they had become friends.

A dock came open and they began to fuel. Rocket watched as the meter showed how much more they required. His fur was standing up just being around Darsca. She bothered him, though other than her mysterious persistence in going around disguised, he couldn't say why. The gauge stopped, still shy of full. He went below to see what had cut it off prematurely. Darsca heard the ping of a laser pistol firing and ran down below to see what had happened. A group of about six guys stood at the bottom of the ship where the fuel pump was connected to it.

Rocket launched himself at one of the guys and throwing herself into the fight Darsca joined him. The six quickly fell and Rocket looked over at Darsca "I could have done it without you" he said and saw her draw her laser pistol and shoot a seventh thug who was standing off to the side, the laser of his gun pointed right onto Rocket's back. She walked past without another word. She didn't rub it in, she just moved on like saving his life was just part of her routine. It irritated Rocket that he owed her now, but he also found that her throwing herself into his fight had made him trust her a little more.

They finished refueling as about twenty more thugs showed up.

"What did those guys want anyways?" Peter asked after having heard about the altercation from Rocket, and now seeing the score of men assembled on the fuelling platform.

"They called me a furball" he spat out.

"I just killed four guys because you got called a furball?" Darsca asked from behind his shoulder. "Shit, I thought I had a hair-trigger temper" she laughed. After Rocket's breach of her privacy by taking her hologram off she had still been sour with him, but also still found him a little amusing.

Off they vaulted through space, leaving the twenty goons on the ground helpless to stop them.

"Now that we've got fuel we should be there in about two hours" Rocket said from the pilot's chair.

"And what do we do if the deal goes sour? If Darsca is right"

"We fight our way out of course" Peter said with a grin to Gamora.

"Sounds about right" Darsca concurred. "So just how much is the bounty your fake King Kall promised?"

"Six million" Peter said with a grin.

"Not bad" she said with a nod "the real King Kall is giving me five. It's nice to know I'm in competition with y'all give or take a million credits."

"Five still isn't bad for one person" Peter conceded. "What were you going to do with it?"

"Give some to charity" she said walking to the den and sitting down "I sponsor the orphanage on Xandar that raised me."

"You grew up on Xandar?" he asked. She didn't say much of her past often so he was curious to find out more.

"Yeah" she looked vacantly across the room "after my mother died it was" she paused for a moment "just me and my brother. Then he left me, six years old, alone, terrified, on the streets of Xandar. He told me that I couldn't keep up and just slowed him down and that if I ever got good enough he might come back for me" her shoulders straightened and she sat up looking a little rigid. "He never did" she said harshly. "But the people of the orphanage that took me in did treat me as best as they could, I was a little alien in the setting, but it wasn't bad. They were also a little disquieted by a small child obsessed with learning martial arts, and studying tech, and training in weapons. They didn't understand why I did it" she shook her head.

"For your brother?" Peter asked softly.

"At first yes" she said with a nod "then after I left the orphanage at fourteen, and started taking jobs, I realized that while he had been the reason to begin with, it was much bigger. Anyone can be betrayed or have their hopes shattered, but how many people go out and push themselves to become the best because of it. I couldn't be mad, no matter how horrible what he did was, because it made me who I am. And well" she grinned "I'm pretty kickass. So not anymore, no, Kohath stopped being my motivation years ago, now it's just to be the best for the sake of it, proving myself to the galaxy, not just one man."

Peter looked at her as she sat there. He was surprised that she had told him so much.

"What about your father?" he asked.

"I don't know who he is, I guess he was just some Ravager like my mom" she sighed, her shoulders dipping in bad posture again.

"Your mom was a Ravager? I grew up with them" he looked at her with interest.

"You probably met my mom at some point, Elina Zarenda, even after she quit they still kept in touch. He even visited once or twice. I also ran into him a few times a little later in life. I'm sorry to hear about his death" she said putting a hand on Peter's shoulder.

"He was a dad to me" he said a little sadly "because like you, I grew up having no idea who my father was." As they sat there he unfolded how he had discovered who and what his father was. She listened intently, the two of them bonding over mysterious paternal parentage.

"Well" she said with a chuckle "I certainly don't think my dad was half as powerful" she paused "or half as crazy, as yours, but who knows" she giggled and he laughed along with her.

Getting up she moved to the kitchens to get a drink of water.

"Hey, Darsca" came a rough voice. She looked down to see Rocket.

"What?" she retorted.

He swallowed hard "I wanted to say thanks" he said reluctantly "I heard some of what you and Quill were talking about" she instantly bristled "I wasn't spying, just walking by. Seems like we've both had it rough." He paused "I knew a guy like us, got sold into slavery by his own parents. He told me some things, thought I'd put them to good use" he said putting out his paw to her.

She looked at him, something akin to suspicion in her eyes. Her hologram's default being to mirror the expressions of her actual face.

"Hey" he said defensively "you can only shut people out for so long before you end up alone."

"I have lived alone my entire adult life" she retorted. But then, getting into a stooping position so that they were eye level, she took his paw. "Perhaps I've been wrong to though" she said with melancholy in her voice "but I know no other way." She stood back up and moved onward to the kitchen.

Rocket watched her go. He saw himself, and he saw Yondu, in her. Too stubborn to risk getting hurt again, she might continue alone forever, but was it worth it? Did pride really matter that much?

She sat in the kitchen, her head hung as she held her empty water cup.

"Oh" came a warbly voice "hi."

She looked up and saw Kraglin, he seemed to be retreating from the kitchen. She even frightened the hearty ravager it would seem.

"I was just leaving" she said getting up. He came into the kitchen. She moved to go but didn't make it out the door. She watched him; wondering what it was about her that made most people want to run away. She had a reputation for being a badass, but surely that wasn't all there was to it. I mean Gamora had been a hardcore evil badass and this strange assortment all counted her as a friend, she thought to herself. "I'm sorry" she said softly.

"For what?" Kraglin asked a chunk of bread in his mouth.

She paused, the words had come but she didn't even know why. What was she apologizing for? For being her? for the joke she had played on him the previous day? for being so hard to get to know? "I don't know" she said and slid down the wall, sitting on the floor, staring at the opposing wall like it wasn't there.

He looked at her for a moment, and the nervousness he usually felt about being around others faded slightly. He sat down beside her.

"Anything you want to talk about?" he asked hesitantly.

"No" she responded flatly "but I probably should." She turned her gaze from the wall to his face "why do I frighten people? Why can't I trust anyone? And why does no one trust me enough to be their friend?" she blurted her three questions out rapidly, and Kraglin took a moment to digest them.

"Well" he began "you are really scary with a sword so that's probably why you frighten people." She very much wanted to correct him and explain that it was a katana, but she refrained. "And as for the second one I think you'll have to answer it for yourself" he paused, recalling what her third rhetorical question had been. "And I'll be your friend" he said simply.

She smiled. "Really Kraglin? Even if I am scary?"

"That's the thing about friends, the more you get to know them, the less scary they become" he gave her a wan smile and stood up, helping her to her feet after him. She had a lot to go over in her head and finding the den empty she went to the couch and sat there, thinking her life over. She didn't want to think about what would happen after the princess was returned and she had to say goodbye to her new friends. Was it really worth the pain that would come later? she asked herself, and for once the small voice inside her that was usually quashed by her pride won with the simple answer of 'yes'.


	4. Carry On My Wayward Son

They landed on the highly aquatic planet. The Guardians strode forward boldly, but Darsca, still feeling thoughtful hung back a bit, walking alongside Groot.

"Your highness" Gamora said with a bow "we return your daughter to you, if yours she is?"

"What do you mean?" came the smooth voice of the man pretending to be Kall.

"While we were preparing to rescue her, another came along, claiming to be from her father and paid to rescue her." Gamora turned to the princess to ask her if this man was her father but instead, the expression on Darsca's face arrested her attention.

"Thank you" the Kall imposter said, "I assure you, though she may not recognize me without my usual imperial veil on, I am her father."

"Liar" Darsca said walking towards him. "I know who you are? explain why you are faking being Kall?"

"The Kall who hired you was no more genuine than I, I simply wore the proper disguise that time, as for Kall, let us say he met with an unfortunate accident. You see, I felt certain the Guardians would not be hired by someone whose face they could not see, though they seem to have no trouble making deals with such a one" he said glaring at her. "You of all people should understand the value of a mask." He waved his hand and a small flying droid not unlike her own flew over her, shooting her hologram controller with a small EMP that disabled it.

She looked up, suddenly feeling exposed, both physically and emotionally. "If you knew then why wait so long?" she asked, a shiver in her voice.

"Why?" He laughed "because you weren't good enough yet. Now that you've proven yourself, I'd be fully willing to allow you to join me in my plans for setting up the most superior Ravager faction to ever rise. I will be at its head, my gruesome bride to be over there" he said gesturing to the princess "will provide the proper money and clout, and you, well with you on my side no one would dare stand up to me, with or without the Marahkai army to back you up."

"Why would I join you?" she asked.

"Because we're blood, because you'd be a general, and because it's what you've been working for your whole life" Kohath said smugly.

"You're wrong" came a clear voice, it wasn't Darsca's. "She stopped chasing your approval when she won the galaxy's respect" Peter said defensively, coming alongside her. "She's been good enough and even better since the time she was twenty" he said glaring at her brother. He wanted to fill him full of holes but if anyone got that honor it would be Darsca herself. After all, the smug bastard sitting on the dais had abandoned her to live on the streets when she was still a child.

"Oh" he mocked "the Guardians have taken my little sister under their wings, how quaint" he chuckled.

"Don't call me that" she said coldly.

"What?"

"Sister. I stopped being your sister the minute you abandoned me" she said with deadly calmness.

"As you like Evelina" he said dismissively.

"Your name isn't Darsca?" Rocket asked.

"No, of course it isn't, I can't make up a face and not make up a name too" she said shaking her head at him.

"Why do either?"

"To avoid me finding her" Kohath answered, "and because it's very convenient to remain unknown while the legend around you grows."

"He's not wrong there" she said with a shrug.

"So why did you hire us to rescue the princess too?" Gamora demanded. She too felt a strong urge to despatch this overbearing two-faced bastard.

"I had to make sure someone got her to me, I still wasn't sure if Evelina was up to it" he said snidely. "With the princess' money and power I can finally prove once and for all that I'm better than our father will ever be" he said addressing his sister. "You can join me, with you as my lieutenant we can show him that he should never have shamed our mother and then pushed her away."

"Our father?" she said falling into the clever trap meant to lure her in.

"No" Peter whispered as she moved nearer to where her brother was.

"Who is our father?"

"Oh" he said with a grin "that's right, mother never told you" he paused for a moment. "We're both the bastard children of the biggest bastard of them all, Stakar."

"The Ravager?" Peter asked in disbelief, though knowing the man's appearance from pictures, he suddenly saw the similarities in his two children as they stood before him.

"Yes" Kohath said "the chief of the Ravagers. I went to him after I left Xandar, he, of course, allowed me to join. Paternal affection and all that, and now I stand as his lieutenant about to take his place."

The two siblings stood there, perhaps ten feet apart at most. Everyone was so absorbed in the drama of the moment that they didn't notice the king's attendant undoing the turban that disguised his face.

"Not so fast" came a deep voice and then electric shackles were placed on Kohath's wrists.

"How did you get here?" Kohath said looking with dread up into his father's eyes.

"I may be getting old, but I'm not as big a fool as you'd like to think I am" he said, sadness in his large deeply set brown eyes. There was silence, the other attendants took off their disguises to reveal themselves as other Ravagers.

"Is everybody wearing a disguise today?" Rocket asked. "Did I miss the big bulletin saying it was wear-a-disguise-day?" he snarked.

Stakar looked over, his associates standing by securing his wayward son. He saw her, for the first time in his life he saw his daughter. She had her mother's hair and eyes. But the face, it was all his, as was the attitude she had made herself intergalactically famous for. Kohath had never quite acted like him, or his mother for that matter. But Darsca Xandahlia, or her true name Evelina Ogord though the last name was his, it belonged to her too, she just hadn't known it until now.

"You're alive" he said slowly making his way towards her. She stood stock still.

"Were you under the impression I wasn't?" she asked raising an eyebrow. She wasn't sure if she was ready to accept a Ravager as her true father.

"Your brother" he paused "Kohath, he told me that you died while you and he were living on the streets of Xandar."

She seethed, starting towards Kohath. The droid that had deactivated her hologram earlier flew to his side and sent EMPs into both the guards and made the electric handcuffs release. The two set upon each other.

"You left me" she shrieked, clobbering his chest, landing blows into his face, bloodying his nose. "And then you lied and told our father I was dead."

He took advantage of her emotional fighting style and flipped, landing a kick into her stomach "well the Ravagers wouldn't have me with a snot-nosed sister who couldn't keep up, trailing behind." He belted her across the face "besides, the sob story angle really played on dad's sympathy."

Rage ran through her and she used it to focus now, her strikes were calculated as her fury poured over.

"Enough!" Stakar shouted. He pulled Kohath off of Evelina, who now had a split lip that was bleeding. She stood up, glaring at her brother, wiping the blood from her mouth, some smearing across her cheek.

"He deserved it" she countered to his interference.

"You think I don't know that?"

"I don't know what you think? Where does a Ravager draw the line?" she asked with some disdain.

"You know nothing, we have our code" Stakar said firmly, not allowing his daughter's penetrating blue eyes to shame him. "Your brother is about to stand trial for his breach of the code" he said shooting the aerial droid with his laser pistol.

"The punishment?" she asked.

"We'll decide" he said turning away. She watched as his followers joined him.

"Kohath Ogord, you're charged with attempting to rebel against your chief. Your flames are stripped, and your name is blacklisted" he said tearing the flame emblem from his lapel. "You are cast out from the Ravagers henceforth." Stakar looked up, he saw not just the face of his daughter, but the fact that she was Darsca Xandahlia, she had been driven into a solitary life by pain, pain inflicted by his son. "That is your punishment as a Ravager," he said slowly "as my son, I tell you plainly that if I see your face again, kin or no, I will shoot you for what you did to your sister" he threw him face down onto the floor by his collar.

The Guardians had watched all this unfold with some amazement, like an audience watching a suspenseful movie.

As his men moved Kohath to his ship, only releasing his bonds once he was safely onboard, and sufficiently abused, Stakar walked towards his daughter.

"I know" he said softly "you probably don't approve of what I am and what it is I do" he said sadly "but I won't apologize. I don't expect you to apologize for the life you live either. But I would like it if I could get to know you" he felt a little awkward. Facing down this woman who worked for the Novacor on occasion and while not afraid to get down in the gore and mud of the real world to get the job done, she never did jobs for the wrong people. Her scruples about her employers were pretty impeccable, this last job had been the only one that had fallen short of her usual high standards.

She looked at him, seeing the pieces of her appearance that she had always assumed came from her father because they didn't align with her mom's looks. She knew he was part of her, though this was their first meeting, she had carried traits from her father from birth. She nodded. She felt a little overwhelmed. She wanted to hug him or something, but she was paralyzed with an overload of emotions. She didn't know how to deal with any of them.

"I've got to go, but you know how to find me if anyone does" he said with a grin. There weren't many people who could hide for long from his daughter, and that made him proud, even if it unsettled him a little that she could easily come looking for him for the bounty he carried on his head. He didn't know how to part but he felt it wasn't right to leave as he did. He walked back over to her, putting his firm hand on her shoulder and looking at her square in her face. She looked so much like her mother in so many ways. He saw the necklace that she wore. "Your mothers" he observed.

She nodded.

"I bought it for her on the Moon of Yendu" he smiled at the memory "it suits you well."

She crumbled, putting her arms around him. She had longed for a father all her life, she didn't care what he did for a living, she finally had a daddy. And Ravager or not, she knew that if she ever needed help Stakar would come as quickly as had he raised her all her life. He patted her shoulders, thankful that the Guardians were involved in a discussion with the princess about what should be done now that Kohath had killed her father.

"I spent so long thinking you were dead, wishing I had visited your mother when she was alive" he said choked with emotion. She had awakened years of regrets inside of him.

"I just thought that whoever my father was, he must not care very much, I assumed that's where Kohath had gotten his cold heart" she looked into her father's eyes "I couldn't have been more wrong. I wouldn't have blamed you had you killed him for his treason alone" she said with respect in her voice.

Stakar smiled at her. "Like I said, find me, anytime, anywhere, you'll always be welcome. Though I'd suggest not coming around looking like Darsca, it might not be safe" he gave her a grin, filled with pride. They lived two different lifestyles, with different rules, but some of the goals were the same, kick ass and have fun doing it, the ethics were where things parted between the Ravager and his daughter.


	5. Sister Christian

Back onboard the ship Evelina, for she had decided to drop her professional name with her friends, now that they knew her actual name, and had basically watched her entire life's drama unfold before them, she sat apart from the others in the den.

"Hey" Peter said coming up to her, sitting down on the sofa beside her. He could tell she was lost in some pretty deep thought, and who could blame her after what had just went down.

"Hey" she said blandly. Seeing Kohath had awoken so much rage inside of her. He had stripped her of both her masks; the physical and the metaphorical.

"You know what?" he said trying to perk her up.

"What?"

"You should dance" he said turning on a song with his remote.

"Really? You pick this as the time to spontaneously burst into dance?" she said with a chuckle as he pulled her off the couch and spun her around. She could get back to sulking later.

He taught her a couple of more intricate spin moves as they danced. Her rage and confusion melting away with the soul songs that were playing. Her mind became clearer with the music and she realized that despite the chaos of the day, she was still the same. She just had a father now.

"You know he's an idiot right?" Pete said giving her a spin.

"Who?"

"Your brother" he pulled her back in. "Any guy would be crazy to miss out on a kickass baby sister like you" he gave her a grin and then the two of them executed a more complex swing style move.

"Thanks, I'll take that as a compliment Star-Serf" she said with a grin. Her sarcastic but buoyant personality returning.

"I'm serious" he said stopping dancing "you've had it out with him. You can stop hiding. Go do whatever you want, go by your real name, wear your real face. You don't have to hide" he looked down at her, staring straight into her face. "You can do whatever you want now, and we'll be here for you, and so will Stakar from the sound of it. You don't have to be the loner anymore."

She looked up at him, her face scrunching up in concentration. "Are you saying that I can join your crew?" she asked. It would be a fresh start. She could use her skills still, but she could be part of a team, maybe not with the title of Guardian, but she could be on the periphery with Kraglin. She could go by her real name and look like herself, and no one would ask for an explanation because they all knew. She hadn't realized how badly she had wanted this until Peter had said they would be there for her.

"Hell yeah" he said with a grin "if you want."

"Well I think I can get along with Rocket well enough to live on the same ship" she said with a grin in return. She sighed, looking across the room in thoughtful silence "I can literally do whatever the hell I want to, can't?" she asked.

"Yup" he said smiling and giving her a hug. "So be yourself, make mistakes, fall in love, do something you never would have done because you can now" he looked at her, his arm slung over her shoulders. He hadn't known that he wanted a little sister until she had came along. He was glad that she wanted to stick around. Now to keep her and Rocket from tearing each other apart at the drop of a hat. As if on que the surly racoon came around the corner.

"Hey Evelina" he said looking up at her and Peter "I got ahold of it again" he said holding her hologram projector out. "Tinkered with a bit and it should work now" he handed it to her. She wondered how the sneaky little bandit hamster had gotten it off her neck without her noticing. She placed it on her neck and pressed the button on the center, using the mental link to Solo to transform her look. She looked at her reflection on the screen across from the couch. It wasn't on so she could see herself on it's surface. Did she want to go back? The small voice that usually lost roared with a 'no'. She had friends now.

"Thanks Rocket" she said bending down and giving the crochety rodent a hug. She switched it off and looked at Peter "it's still handy" she said as her defense.

"It is" he smiled, happy to see that her and Rocket were making peace.

Peter went off to find Gamora.

"I'm glad" she said after he had told her that he had offered Evelina a place on the ship.

"Really?" he asked somewhat surprised.

"I'm not the jealous type Peter" she said rolling her eyes "besides, I can already see that she looks up to you like the brother she never got to have" she rolled her eyes "god that guy was a dick." She smiled to hear herself picking up Peter's colorful language.

"No joke" Peter said chuckling.

"Besides, you and Dars- Evelina, are like two peas in a pod, which is nice, because I think she gets you even when you don't, and I certainly am not going to burst into spontaneous dance with you in front of everyone any time soon" she laughed softly.

"What about not in front of the others?" Peter whispered with a smirk.

Gamora gave him a shove to push him away, but also a smile.

They told the others over dinner and even Rocket didn't protest. Despite himself he was actually rather liking the idea of having her around. Especially since she was really handy in a fight.

"So where is she going to sleep?" Gamora asked thinking aloud. It was just her, Evelina, Peter, and Groot left at the table.

"I am Groot" he said defiantly.

"I had no idea of giving her your room" Peter protested "though she'd probably take better care of it than you do."

"I wouldn't make any bets on that" she said with a grin.

"Well we could double up?" Peter said giving Gamora a grin that he knew perfectly well would get him punched, which it did.

"We can share my room" Gamora said with a small smile at Evelina. No one wanted to share a room with Mantis, having someone around who could alter your feelings or read them was disconcerting. Not that anyone thought she would use them to their harm, but still it was weird. Especially for people who had lots of secrets to conceal.

Evelina felt weirdly excited by the idea of having a home, of having friends to call her own. It was a strange sensation. Especially when compounded with having a father she could go see whenever she liked too. She wandered around the ship. Getting to know it now that she didn't have to dread saying goodbye to it. She found Kraglin in an abandoned storage area, he had shut the door and she watched as he practiced with Yondu's old arrow. She smiled and moved on. Drax sat stock still looking out at space.

"What are you looking at?"

"It goes on forever" he said and then went silent again, clearly wrapped up in thoughts of his own.

She peered her head into Groot's room. He sat on his bed playing some game.

"Hey" she said with a small smile "can I come in?"

"I am Groot" he said in a tone that seemed to say it was okay. She came up beside him and looked over his shoulder to see the game he was playing.

"It's a fun game" she said. She had played it once or twice.

"I am Groot" he said with animation and handed her a second screen.

"You want me to play you?"

He nodded. She laughed "this may be the only thing I can be beat at" she pushed her hair out of her face and focused.

A while later Peter and Gamora walked past the door, watching for a moment as Groot and Evelina duked it out, battling for control of lands in some popular game that Peter pretended to be too cool for, but had played for a solid two weeks straight when it had first come out. He smiled to see her making a home so quickly. He knew what it was like to go around acting like you didn't need to put roots somewhere, to deny your own humanity. He was glad him and the rest of the crew could give her a place with them. Also he was just a little proud of the fact that they had just managed to recruit the legendary bounty hunter onto their ship.

A few hours later Evelina quietly made her way into the room she and Gamora were to share.

"Did Groot keep you up playing his silly games?" she asked from the darkness.

"Yeah" she chuckled "I think I'm beginning to understand Groot-speak though, so it wasn't a total waste" she said flipping on a small light by the door to find her bed with. "Thanks for letting me bunk in the same room as you" she said flinging herself onto her bed.

"Just so long as you don't decide to wake me up very suddenly we should be fine" she turned out the light for them.

"I wouldn't dream of it, I know I'd likely lose an arm" she chuckled.

"At the very least" Gamora responded with humour in her voice. It was pleasant to not be limited to Mantis for fellow female company. The empath was sweet, but a little too much so, it got sickening after a while. Not that Gamora wouldn't murder anyone who so much as harmed a hair on Mantis' head, but protective instincts didn't necessarily equate to friendship. She cared about her, but not her company. Evelina however promised, if nothing else, to be a sparring partner who might just match up to her. She smiled. It also made her happy to see Peter finding a friend of similar tastes and providing said friend with the brotherly care her own brother had so coldly denied her.


	6. Icicles

Gamora was busy looking over new jobs for the Guardians to take. There was no shortage of offers, but which one to take was the question. Her, Peter, and Rocket sat around the table discussing the options. Drax stood to the side with Mantis and Groot was still in his room. Evelina came into the dining room still in a groggy half-sleep wearing her pajamas. She walked right past them to the refrigerator, took out the jug of milk and taking off the cap proceeded to take a few large swallows straight from the bottle.

"Dude!" Peter said calling her out "seriously? Even I don't do that" he said in disgust.

She looked from him to the bottle and then the others in a little confusion.

"You'll get backwash in it" Rocket said grossed out.

She drank the rest of the bottle of milk setting the empty carton on the table in front of Rocket.

"Backwash solved" she said and sauntered back to her room to wash her face up and actually try to be awake.

Peter wanted to be annoyed with her, but that was just the kind of sassy thing he would do himself. Rocket was veering towards being irritated with her again and Gamora could sense it.

"Guys" she said "we have to remember, she's spent her entire life living on her own. It's going to take her awhile to adjust to living around other people. It may be frustrating but some of us were no better when we first met" she said giving Peter a pointed look.

"It was your idea for her to join Quill, you have to make sure she learns how to act like a civilized person" he said picking up the empty jug from in front of him and throwing it in the garbage.

"It's pretty bad if Rocket is calling her uncivilized" Gamora prodded Peter.

He knew they were right, though he wanted to defend her against their criticisms nonetheless. It was just a jug of milk after all. But he knew that if she was going to coexist with them and be part of their team, she'd have to learn how to mesh with other people and not just be the flippant loner all the time.

"Let me know which one you choose" he said getting up and going to Gamora and Evelina's room. He could tell very clearly which side belonged to who. The one had little or no decoration and was neat. The other was chaos. In the week since he had offered her a place on the ship, she had managed to create a nest of half-dirty clothes on the floor and tack up at least three posters. There were empty food packages and the faint odor he immediately recognized as unwashed socks. He could tell why even Gamora was getting a little short with their new crew member. "Evelina" he said knocking on the door.

"Sure" she said.

He came in hearing the sound of water running, he looked in, deciding to stay at the door when he saw she was just wearing pants and her bra. Unlike his usual tendency to check out attractive women, he kind of felt embarrassed. Partly because she was Gamora's roommate now, and mainly because she was like a baby sister to him. She wiped her face on the towel and came and sat down on the edge of her bed by the door.

"What's up?" she said.

Peter looked at the wall above her head rather than her. "We've got to talk about some stuff Evelina" he said trying to figure out how to tell her what the others had sent him to stay. "I get that you've lived on your own all this time, but some stuff is just not okay." He still kept looking at the wall.

"What are you talking about Peter?" she asked. She had been half-asleep when she had drained the bottle of milk. She also noticed he wasn't looking at her. "And what's wrong with you? is there something on my face?" she asked a little defensively. She was no morning person by any stretch of the imagination.

He looked at her face "Evelina" he said shaking his head "put your clothes on." He nearly cringed at how much of a parent he sounded like with the way he had said it. "It's stuff like this I'm talking about" he said as she reached behind her head and flicked on her hologram, which was wearing a shirt.

"Do you do that all the time?" he asked before he could stop himself.

"No!" she said laughing and pulling her legs up onto the bed in front of her, leaning her chin on them. "So what is it that you came here to talk to me about?"

"You've got to realize that living with other people isn't going to be the same as living alone. You can't just drink all the milk and live like a pig, not that I'm one to talk, but I care about everyone getting along, and I'm afraid you'll be on Gamora's bad side soon if this room continues smelling like moldy socks" he shuddered "you really don't want to get on her bad side. Even our resident bandit hamster is calling for you to act like a civilized person." He put his hand on her shoulder and then moved it back feeling just skin. "And can you please look like you again, but with a shirt on this time?" he said.

"Fine" she said rolling her eyes and picking a shirt up from the pile and pulling it over her head and flipping off her hologram. "Better?" she asked. "And I'm sorry that I'm being so difficult. I just don't know about some of these things and haven't ever had to care about the others. I do want to stay on Gamora's good side, she's been sweet to me. And I certainly don't want to step on Rocket's tail any more than I already do by just being me." She got up and started sorting the clothes on the floor into two piles. "Where do I do laundry around here anyways?" she asked.

He chuckled. "I'll show you" he said picking up the pile of dirty clothes while she grabbed the second one.

"Thanks"

The two of them talked while the machines cleaned the clothes.

"And part of it is that I don't have anything to actually put my clothes into" she observed looking at the wall.

"You don't?" he asked "why didn't you say something?"

"Didn't want to bother anyone" she said stiffening a little.

"You're not a bother" he said pulling her down from where she had been sitting on top of the machine "come on, I'm sure we can rig something up until the next time we land."

Over the next couple of days everyone noticed Evelina to at least be making an effort to not only behave more politely but to also interact with others. She wasn't just clinging to Peter's company. She sat and played board games with Drax, the two of them teaching Mantis how to play as well. She and Gamora did combat practice together while Rocket was invited to judge and critique, and Peter just watched. She and Groot had already been getting along pretty well. She even helped him clean up his room to keep Peter off his bark about it.

She came into the dining room in the evening and found Kraglin sitting there with a drink in hand.

"Can I have some?" she asked pointing to the bottle.

"Sure" he said getting a second glass for her.

"Thanks" she sat down in the chair next to him.

"Something on your mind?" she asked.

"No" he said "just haven't been able to sleep" he drained a second glass.

She took a swallow out of her own "ooh" she said fanning herself "it's strong" she said her face scrunching up "but it's good" she added pouring herself a second glass.

He smiled at her. The two of them sat and talked. She hadn't heard his story before then. She knew he had been a Ravager with Yondu, but his life as an orphan before he had joined was something she hadn't known. And he listened fascinated at how she had trained to be the best she could. She showed him the scars on her legs and back from her failure and falls when she was young, pushing her physical limits just to earn a cold heart's respect. They talked and drank the night away, Peter joining them a little later on to tell them that Gamora had found a job for them. They discussed the details and the night ended with Evelina falling asleep with her head on the table.

Peter and Kraglin looked at her there, peacefully snoozing, her face smooshed against the table's surface.

"I've got this" Pete said picking her up in his arms and carrying her to her room.

"Did you two get the poor girl that drunk?" Gamora asked from her spot on her bed.

"Nah, she drank more than I did. I think she was just tired" he said putting her down on her bed and taking her boots off so she could sleep better. Gamora came over and helped him with the other boot and they pulled the cover over her. She had begun part of their strange little family.

She had been assimilated into a group that held two former Ravagers, an ex-assassin, one crazy raccoon, a brooding teenage tree, an antennaed empath and a guy whose nickname was the Destroyer. It didn't seem too odd for another misfit without a family to find one with the rest of them.

Peter smiled and sat on Gamora's bed as the two of them talked for a while in soft voices so as to not wake up Evelina.

The more Gamora saw that Peter cared for their new crew member the more she herself grew to care about her. She enjoyed seeing Peter happy. She wondered how she had lived so long without finding joy in the joy of others. But the big dopey pride-filled smile Peter wore whenever Evelina did something impressive, like managing to get the upper hand whenever they sparred or whenever she let him take care of her, it made Gamora's heart swell. She loved Peter, and so she loved what he loved, and he loved the newest family member in their band of misfits.


	7. Start Me Up

The job was simple. Retrieve six priceless jewels from the person who had stolen them. What made it more difficult was the two hundred soldiers that stood between them and the entrance to the underground vault that they would have to find a way into once they got past the guards.

Peter steered the ship to the space above the guards and opened fire. He didn't get a kick out of killing like Rocket or Drax seemed to, but he did find a general satisfaction in ridding the galaxy of ultra bad guys, which is what anyone who worked for Dargeth was. He handed the control over to Kraglin and jumping out of the back with his rockets activated he flew towards the entrance to the vault. Rocket followed in flight, while Drax, Gamora, and Evelina jumped to the ground and took out the few remaining guards as they headed for the vault doors.

"Scan the door" Evelina said to Solo. He flew and attached himself to the door, sending her images of its components through their mental link. "There are twelve different locks we need to get past to unlock it" she told the others.

"Good thing I'm here" Rocket said. He set charges to the door. They would eliminate the locks that were powered by electricity. Which still left six more, but Rocket was more than equipped to break them the old fashioned way.

After the door was busted they went through the corridor of safes, searching for the one with the jewels.

"Of course they are in six different ones" Rocket said with a groan.

"You two" he said to Drax and Evelina "with me, let's guard the door." They followed him, leaving Gamora and Rocket to try and break into the six separate safes.

Peter had heard more footfalls and those that missed Kraglin's fire from the ship came in to find Darsca Xandahlia, Star-Lord, and Drax the Destroyer ready to send them to the beyond. Evelina wielded her katana and pistol with skill. Peter rocketed around getting anyone who made it past Evelina and Drax. By the time they had taken out the last of Dargeth's men Gamora and Rocket had all six gems collected and were heading out of the back of the vault.

"Well that was easy" Evelina said pushing her hair out of her face.

"Yeah" Rocket said with a grin "you just had to shoot people. I did all the hard work." Gamora gave him a look "her too."

Evelina shook her head and grinned back at him. Her and Rocket communicated in a base language of sarcasm.

They got back into the ship and took off for their employer's world. Business concluded there pleasantly, a bonus for getting the job done in less than 48 hours was added to their pay.

"So let's see" Rocket said sitting at the table "between what we just got from Lord Frogface and the reward the princess gave us for rescuing her from Evelina's psychopath brother, we've all got about six million apiece."

"Are you suggesting we take a day off?" Peter asked with a grin.

"What do we even do with days off?" Evelina asked.

"Have fun" he said with grin widening.

Six hours later they were landing on Ophonica, a small world that was entirely covered in urban and commercial buildings. The interesting part was the planet was also completely water. So it was one enormous floating city.

"So what are we doing?" Evelina asked Peter as they landed.

"Whatever we want to, start fights, get into mischief, party like only we know how" he said flashing a grin.

She went to her room. She wanted to look the proper part, do credit to her friends. She saw that Peter had gone to change his shirt for the occasion of a night out on the town, she felt she should do similarly. She went through the drawers of wrinkled tank tops and fitted pants. Nothing said party, most of them were grey or neutral greens and browns.

She smiled, she had her hologram after all. And she'd rather walk into a place like she owned it looking like her alternate self. She gave Solo a mental picture of what she wanted to look like and the droid altered her appearance to that of her Darsca persona and put her in a red dress. The display had trouble with making her boots conform to heels so she decided to scrap the dress idea and went for black leather. She had the boots to wear that actually went with that. She changed into them, Solo putting a black waist length jacket on her hologram and a tight logo-ed blouse and giving her tight black leather leggings.

She walked out of her room ready to take on the world, or at least the city of Ophonica.

"Well look whose dressed up to meet hell" Peter remarked with an approving nod. She looked like she could kill you with a blink. "Though why the disguise?" he asked.

"I look more badass this way" she shrugged "and people know who I am. Plus I didn't have any clothes this cool in my actual wardrobe" she laughed.

"Well let's start some trouble" Peter said walking in the lead Drax and Mantis followed and Rocket and Groot came alongside. Evelina had run back to her room to grab her wallet and so she brought up the rear of the exiting crew with Kraglin by her side. Gamora had chosen to stay with the ship. The riotous city party atmosphere wasn't appealing to her, and she couldn't changer her face like Evelina, people still hated her for her past and someone needed to protect the ship. Kraglin and Evelina caught up with Peter, the three of them leading the group.

They found a properly disreputable looking bar and walked in, enjoying the response the patrons gave when they stood back and cleared the bar to make way for the Guardians of the Galaxy. They all ordered their favorite drinks. Peter and Evelina both grinned as they saw the bar had a dance floor to the side, in a corner.

They looked at each other in silent communication "oh yeah" she said nodding and the two of them went over. The music wasn't quite the Earth style that Peter loved so much, but it was good. He and Evelina made the best of it. Dancing by themselves or with each other, occasionally with other patrons. That would give them something to tell their friends.

"I'm gonna go get something to drink" Peter said bowing out after a dance off with his unofficial little sister.

"That's right, run away because I beat you" she teased.

"Whatever" he said rolling his eyes and going to the bar. He went to make sure Groot was staying out of trouble.

Evelina was still laughing at Peter's departing figure when she heard a voice behind her.

"Care to dance?" the question had never been asked so sinisterly before in the history of it's existence. She slowly turned around, coming face to face with Dagbar, a rival of hers in the bounty hunting trade. She had beat him to a job more than once, and for it he held a personal grudge against her.

"Can't you get over it?" she said coldly "I'm better than you. You really want to pick a bar for me to kick your ass in front of everyone in?"

"You suggesting we take this outside?" he asked.

"That's not a suggestion, it's a demand" she replied.

"Very well" he said and the two of them went out a back door to the alley behind. "Though you can't blame me for your own stupidity" he said as six men came out from the shadows, grabbing her arms and restraining her. She jerked, flipping the one off her shoulder. She reached down for the katana she kept sheathed on the outside of her boot, but she realized it wasn't there. She had changed boots. A brief look of panic passed through her eyes. Her hand moved to her belt where her pistol was but by that time the man she had thrown off had pinned her more forcefully and she couldn't move her hand to grab it.

"I've waited a long time for this" he said pulling out a long knife. Evelina cursed herself for not packing her knife. She was going to die because she had been worried about looking pretty. She moved her body, attempting to flip the men who held her shoulders off balance. She succeeded and reached for her pistol. Before she could fire it though Dagbar fell to the ground, a shot straight through his middle. She looked up to see Rocket, a little drunk, but still in control of his senses, standing there. Peter was coming up behind him along with Kraglin and the three of them took out the remaining thugs.

"You okay?" Pete asked. Dagbar had managed to nick her throat when she jerked to throw the guys off of her.

"Yeah" she said catching her breath.

"I didn't mean for you to actually start any fights" he joked.

"He started it" she said "and meant to finish it too." She was a little rattled at having nearly died. "Why did y'all come?"

Peter opened his mouth to speak, but Rocket beat him to it.

"We don't just kick ass for a living, we kick ass on anyone who messes with our friends" he gave her a grin.

"You've got us to back you up" Kraglin said proudly.

"Thanks you guys" she said as Pete pulled her to her feet.

"Anytime, now just try not and get into any more trouble" Rocket complained, taking up the spot on Evelina's left as they four of them returned to the bar. She sat there recovering herself when she found a glass placed in her hand by Kraglin. He stood shyly by, worried about her after what she had just been through.

"Thanks" she said as she took a swallow. "Wanna dance?" she asked looking from him to the floor. Peter had already returned to it after he knew that she'd be okay. Kraglin's face lit up. He often felt left out, like everyone around him was far cooler than himself. It was nice to be included and invited. He took her hand and they went to the floor. Now that he wasn't having the idea of dancing thrown on him out of left field, like the last time they had danced, he turned out to be a passable dancer.

Peter looked over with a curious expression on his face, his feet actually ceasing to move as he watched his innocuous friend bust out with some pretty decent dance moves. He chuckled to himself and returned to dancing with his own starstruck partner. He went back to the bar, leaving Evelina in Kraglin's arms dancing around the floor together. He went back to the ship not long after, wanting to see how Gamora was doing. He trusted Kraglin to look out for Evelina and the two of them to keep Drax in line. Groot and Rocket, of course could take care of each other, they always had.

Rocket and Drax came in a few hours later.

"Where's everyone else?" Peter asked from his seat on the couch beside Gamora.

"Last I saw them, Evelina was dancing with Groot" Drax said, carrying a drunk Rocket to his room.

"Now there's a mental image" Peter said laughing. He and Gamora parted for the night, trusting the others to show up in their own time.

In the wee hours of the morning, Peter got up to go to the bathroom and on his way back to his room saw blonde hair hanging over the side of the pilot's chair. He went over, intending to pick up Evelina and carry her to her room again, but instead found her asleep with Kraglin holding her. He looked more than a little surprised, but they were probably so drunk they had just kind of collapsed that way as soon as they had gotten onboard and found the nearest chair to fall onto. He shook his head and returned to bed. When he awoke he felt certain the entire scene had just been a strange dream. They certainly weren't acting any different around each other. All the same, he felt it would be a good idea to recommend Evelina spend some time with her dad. He had taken on the role of older brother far more than he had thought possible, and to him, no one, and certainly not some ex-Ravager like Kraglin, was going to be worthy of his baby sister.


	8. No More Love On the Run

It took a day or two for Evelina to find where Stakar was. His location was on a tropical planet in the Stellar Prime quadrant. The plan was to drop her off for a few days while they all took some down time before the next job. She smiled to herself as they landed. She felt excited to have some time to spend with her dad. She had gotten ahold of him to tell him she was coming.

The warm air hit her with the scent of salt in the air. Dad or not, she was going to enjoy being on this planet, she thought to herself as she got off the ship. Her pack was slung over her shoulder. Kraglin, Gamora, and Peter followed. She had said goodbye to the others, but those three wanted to see her safely to Stakar before they blasted off the planet.

The four walked side by side, causing more than one Ravager a little envy or alarm. Most knew why they were there, but some in ignorance feared for their freedom.

"It's good to see you" Stakar's deep voice said as they walked up to a bar with an outside veranda. He stood there with a drink in his hand and his glassy looking lieutenant by his side. He moved out of the shade into the sun. He looked at the others.

"It's good to know that Evelina has such good friends" he said giving them all a modest smile. He appreciated their not simply leaving her, he also was a little proud that she ran with such a powerful squad.

"We all care a lot about Evelina" Gamora said quietly "we didn't want to risk anything happening to her before she found you."

He chuckled.

"You think I couldn't take care of whatever did?" Evelina asked arching and eyebrow at Gamora.

"No, it's just now that you've got us you don't have to worry about taking out bad guys all on your own anymore" she said to placate her friend's pride.

"Have fun" Peter said giving the surroundings and envious look. He wrapped her in a fraternal hug and picked her up off the ground before releasing her as he set her back down. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do" he teased.

"I don't think there's anything on that list Peter" she retorted.

Gamora and Peter moved to return to the ship and leave her with her father. Kraglin stood there.

"I think I'll stay Cap'n" he said to Peter. The man turned and looked and him curiously but then in that setting, surrounded by other Ravagers, it seemed natural for Kraglin to want to stay. After all, that's what this week was about, the Guardians taking a break and getting some down time however they felt. He personally hoped to ditch the others along the way and maybe take Gamora to some cozy spot in the mountains somewhere or just cruise around space with only her for company.

"Come on" Stakar said "you're just in time for dinner" he ushered her into the little cabana and Kraglin followed at a distance, hanging back. He fell into conversation with some of Stakar's Ravagers while Evelina and her dad went to get dinner on the patio and catch up.

The next day, most of them went to the beach. Stakar was taking some time away from stealing stuff to make plans and catch some rest. He and Evelina spent the day together, the other Ravagers giving them space. After all, with a heartless traitor son, they couldn't fault him for wanting to get to know the daughter he thought had died. And the Ravagers who remembered her mother couldn't help but just watch her and think of Elena with fond memories.

Stakar taught her Evelina how to surf and when dinner rolled around they just grilled some fish that some of his men had caught over an open fire. They sat on the beach watching the sunset together when she looked over at her dad. He looked as thoughtful as she felt.

"Why did my mother leave the Ravagers?" she asked. She had heard her mother's answer but wondered if there had been more to it.

"I guess in a way I made her leave" he said with a sigh. "She left because she knew if she stayed, and raised you and your brother with the Ravagers that sooner or later others would suspect that you two were mine, and then anything I did to help you or Kohath would be seen as favoritism and breed tension. She left because she didn't want to be the cause of factions breaking up my band." He shook his head. "And I think she didn't want to raise up a daughter in the Ravager lifestyle" he said looking over at her "because she quit as soon as she found out what she was having."

"That's what she had told me. She obviously couldn't tell me about the part about factions seeing as she would have to tell me who my father was."

He put a paternal kiss to the top of her head. The irony that the fear of betrayal that had made Elena quit her place with him and the Ravagers had been caused by her leaving. Their son together had tried to tear apart his father's position as head of the Ravagers. But where he had lost his son he had gained a daughter, and one to be proud of.

"Stakar" came the voice of his lieutenant. "We have a message from Aleta" he informed him.

"Sorry Evie" he said giving her a nickname and a pat on her shoulders.

"Whose Aleta?" she asked Martinex.

"Aleta is Stakar's wife" he said and moved to follow Stark to the ship where he would take the call from her.

Evelina sat there in silence as she processed the fact that her father had married another while having never married her mother. She felt a little cheapened, like she didn't matter as much, because her mother hadn't been significant enough to marry.

"So" came Kraglin's wheedly voice "how's it going?"

She looked up at him, inviting him with a gesture, to sit beside her on the sand. "Okay I guess'' she said with a shrug. "He's cool and all, but I just found out that he's married to some chick named Aleta. And he never married my mom" she said in a disgruntled voice.

"Maybe he wanted to but he couldn't, like, I don't know maybe there was some reason they couldn't get married" he said trying to soothe her frustration at her mother being snubbed while some other woman had achieved the title of wife.

"Like what?" she retorted.

"Like your mother refused to marry him, not wanting their relationship even to be known about, because she feared factions" Martinex had silently returned. "And because she wanted to earn her place as one of his lieutenants without others suspecting it was simply Stakar indulging his lover."

She looked at the Pluvian as he told her the story of her mother and father and how only those closest to them even knew. He received a call from Stakar and returned to him on the ship where he was speaking with Aleta over a video call.

"See" Kraglin said with a grin.

She smiled and leaned over against his shoulder, feeling drowsy in the dying rays of the sun.

"Want to take a walk?" he offered. The ocean was always relaxing; with the tide washing over your feet as you walked the beach. She nodded and he helped her to her feet, keeping hold of her hand after she had gotten up. She didn't mind. As much as she enjoyed her father's company and getting to know him, Kraglin was familiar, he was part of her actual family with the Guardians. And the two of them both understood what it was like to be a part of that family but not fully belong. They helped the team but didn't bear the title. They walked and talked under the light of the moon. Discussing her failed attempts at surfing that he had seen throughout the day.

As they walked down the beach, not even bothering to think of how far from the huts they were travelling a thought occurred to Evelina that stunned her into silence. She looked over at Kraglin, suddenly realizing that she didn't see him quite how she saw the others. And that he didn't act frightened of her anymore. She smiled, and he looked down at that moment, noticing her quietness, and saw her smile.

He hung his arm over her shoulders, holding her closer, and she rested her head against his shoulder. It was unspoken, but they both could feel something blooming between them. He had been looking out for her from the background that she had simply overlooked him until now. He wasn't loud and extroverted like Peter so his subtle heroics had gone unnoticed. But now that she thought about it, he had been there and been just as concerned when she had been accosted by Dagbar and his thugs.

"Evelina" he said after what had seemed an hour of contented silence.

"Yes?" she said looking up at him.

The sight of her blue eyes in the moonlight made all his nerves come back and rather than say what he had on his mind he simply said "I think we should be getting back."

The next morning Stakar called her in to see him while he had breakfast by himself.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked.

"Not long, but I did sleep well."

"I just wanted to ask you, are you and Kraglin" he paused, trying to find the proper words but failing "a thing." Was all that came out.

Her eyebrow flew up in incredulity "a thing?" she said derisively. "Why do you ask?" She felt a little irritated at Stakar coming in and trying to be an overprotective dad when they scarcely had spent any time together. And she really didn't want him scaring the poor guy off. She was very fond of him.

"I ask because I had thought of offering him a position in my clan" he said flatly. "And because you're my daughter and I think you can do better" he added firmly.

"It's not about doing better or doing worse, it's about doing what's best. And no we're not a thing" she said a little heatedly "not yet anyways" she said bitterly before storming out of the room.

Stakar realized over his toast and eggs, that he might have overstepped himself. He had enough to worry about with what Aleta had told him of Kohath's movements. It would seem his son was still trying to stir up trouble for him. Not to mention his wife was coming there the next day. He sighed and returned to his breakfast with less than enthusiastic interest.

"Kraglin" she said coming up to him and taking his arm in her hand. The startled Ravager looked down at her. He remembered the moonlit night of peace they had shared the previous evening. He smiled a bit but his surprise only increased when Evelina put her arms around his neck and kissed him solidly on the mouth. If her father thought that he could just uproot Kraglin and steal him from her and from his family with the Guardians. He seriously underestimated his daughter and her stubborn and resourceful nature. Plus, she had wanted him to kiss her last night anyways, so she had just rushed things a bit to make sure Kraglin was solidly attached to her and the Guardians before her father came to him with any offers.

"I guess that made up your mind" one of Stakar's Ravagers observed cheekily. Kraglin had just been discussing with him about how Stakar had offered him a position in his faction.

"Oh" he said with a dizzy little grin "I had already made up my mind to stay with the Guardians" he said smiling down at Evelina. He had been stunned by her kiss, but also relieved, up until then he had been unsure if the feelings he had been experiencing were one-sided or not. She was a little out of his league. He swallowed hard as he thought of how protective Peter was of her. He wasn't likely to approve any more than Stakar of their getting together. But he looked down at her defiant little smile and decided that he didn't care.


	9. Running on Empty

Evelina spent the rest of the day somewhat avoiding her father. She and Kraglin hung close to each other enjoying each other's company and the time at the beach. The next day they sat together at breakfast, eating tropical fruits and delicious sweet bread that nearly melted in your mouth.

"You should talk to him" Kraglin said simply.

"Who?"

"Stakar" he said looking her in the eye.

"Why?"

"Because he's your dad, and that's why you're here, and he's just worried about you" he said with a small smile. "Besides he's right. I'm not good enough for you."

"You can shut your mouth Kraglin, you're plenty good enough for me. You treat me better than I deserve and I know I can rely on you. I've never had anything like that." She reached across the table and took his hand "and the way you look at me makes me feel like I don't have to pretend to be all tough and kickass all the time, even when I don't feel very tough at all" she said with simplicity as she gave him an appreciative smile.

"So" he said feeling duly overwhelmed by what she had just told him "you gonna talk to him?"

"If you want me to" she gave him a smile and got up to go looking for Stakar.

She knocked on the door to the hut he had to himself. A long and lean woman with dark hair answered.

"You must be Evelina" she said with a smile. It was pretty obvious, the girl at the door looked so much like her mother with the dark eyes and honey colored hair.

She looked at the woman who had answered the door.

"Evie" Stakar said coming to the door "this is Aleta" he introduced the two of them.

"You look so much like your mother" Aleta observed offering Evelina a chair at their breakfast table.

"You knew her?"

"Hell yeah, I knew her sweetheart" she said with a broad smile. "She was the first Ravager I could truly call a friend. She helped me learn the trade and looked out for me when I was new to it. Elena kept me out of bad trouble and helped me find the good kind" she said with a grin.

Despite herself, Evelina felt that she and Aleta were going to get along great. She sat with them, eating a second breakfast. Stakar was relieved to see her being communicative with him again. He made a mental note to mind his own business. After all, it was Evelina's life and if she liked Kraglin who was he to butt in unless the boy did something to merit his interference. He'd leave the protective watchdog position to Peter Quill once the two of them rejoined the Guardians.

"So Stakar tells me you've been learning to surf?" she said as they finished up their meal.

"Yeah" she nodded.

"I find that rather hilarious seeing as he knows next to nothing about it" she sassed her husband.

"Oh really?" Evelina asked with a grin. "Maybe that's why I've made no progress."

"Come on, let me change and I'll show you how a pro does it" Aleta grinned.

Stakar rolled his eyes, there would be no shortage of smart-alec behavior with those two together. But it made him smile to see them getting along so well.

He went out to watch them surf together and found Kraglin doing the same. The two of them stood there in silence. Stakar spending equal amounts of time observing Kraglin as he did watching his daughter and wife surf.

"I just wanted to say sir" Kraglin said breaking the silence. "She's a fine girl and I'll do my best to take care of her, whether you think I'm good enough or not." He turned and faced the lead Ravager "she thinks I am and as long as she does I think that's all that matters, right sir?"

Stakar paused. He was right.

"Treat her well Kraglin" he said giving him his most intimidating expression as he took the skinny man's hand. What his daughter saw in him he couldn't quite see, but if she was happy and he treated her right he had no rational ground for complaint. Not that he was always rational.

The two women came over after spending hours together in the water. Evelina's surfing skills having improved immensely.

"I'm starved" the younger one said with a grin, dripping wet in her bathing suit.

"Good thing Kraglin and I took care of finding lunch" Stakar said taking Aleta's arm while Kraglin took Evelina's. There was a nice casual restaurant on the beach front that served top-notch food without the five-star snobbery. The four of them sat there talking and laughing. Both of the men feeling a little outshined by their kickass girls.

The week began to come to a close and Pete had gotten in touch to say he'd be picking her and Kraglin up the next day. Evelina had grown to know both her father and her step-mother better and while she knew the Guardians were her true family, she would miss the two of them and definitely meant to visit them during her downtime.

Aleta decided to talk with Kraglin and free up her husband and step-daughter to have some time to themselves. They walked a little ways down the beach.

"I'm going to miss you" Stakar observed "don't suppose there'd be any use in asking you to stay and join the Ravagers?" he asked looking over at her.

"Love you daddy, but hell no" she said with a grin. "This life you live, it's a little too hazy for my taste. And besides, I've found a home with the Guardians." She smiled an apologetic half-smile. He gave her a hard look. "No" she said laughing "it's not just Kraglin, though he's sweet and I do like him a lot."

"Like?" he asked skeptically.

"Hey" she protested. "I am self aware enough to know that it's gonna take me a while to get around to the idea of loving someone else. I'm an egotist who grew up a loner. But I'm going to try, and I'd be lying to say that I didn't think it could happen with him."

Stakar chuckled. "You certainly are my daughter" he said putting an arm around her shoulders and kissing the top of her head. "I think it took me damn near a year to tell your mother how I felt, even after we'd been seeing each other on the sly for a while" he shook his head. There was a peaceful silence between them for a while as they stood watching the waves. "I hope I did right letting her go. I can't help but think if I hadn't; if I'd told her no, maybe Kohath would have turned out better. And while I'm proud of you, it would have been good for you to grow up not having to run like a lone wolf all the time."

"Well its in the past now, I turned out okay and I don't know where Kohath went wrong." She smiled, "but it's nice to know that you would have been there had you known."

"Damn right. And now that I do know that you're alive, I'll always be here for you Evie" he said looking down at his daughter with pride.

The next morning Peter landed the ship closer to the little row of huts where they were staying.

"Hey" he said coming up to Evelina and picking her up in a bear hug. She laughed.

"Missed you Star-Serf."

"Speaking of surfing" Kraglin threw in from his spot at Evelina's elbow "she's a damn good surfer now."

"That so?" Peter asked in a challenging tone.

"Yeah" she countered, a challenge of her own in her blue eyes.

"We'll see about that" he said looking to the surf behind the cabana.

"Last one on the sand is a rotten egg" she said running towards the waves. Peter following and taking off his shirt as he ran after her.

Gamora stood there beside Aleta and Stakar, all thinking the exact same thought; that Pete and Evelina were too overgrown children. They all chuckled as the two grabbed boards and went out into the surf.

"Go, Peter!" Gamora shouted from the beach, watching them.

"Kick his ass, Evie!" Stakar shouted.

"Go, Evelina!" Kraglin shouted and Gamora turned and gave him a curious look before returning her attention to the two in the waves.

The two returned sopping wet with no clear winner but the biggest grins on their goofball kid faces.

"We gonna go now?" Gamora asked with her eyebrow raised in silent indulgent judgement of the giant child who she loved.

"Fine" he said giving her a hug and drenching her in the water dripping off of him.

"I hate you" she said glaring at him.

"No, you don't" he said grinning.

"We need to go" Rocket said "we have to be at King Fatso's by tomorrow" he interjected.

Evelina looked to Aleta and Stakar. Aleta came up and gave her a hug.

"Your mother would be proud" she said with a smile. "And I'm proud to be your step-mother" she added.

"Thanks."

Stakar came up and held her in an emotional embrace. She would always be his daughter. It had taken the loss of one child's loyalty for him to find her but she was something special and she was his. He'd be there for her come rain or shine.

"Don't forget, even if you and the Guardians fall out I'll always be here. No expectations, you can come running anytime you need me" he shook his head. "I don't think you'll need me" he said nodding to the Guardians "but if you do."

"I got you daddy" she said with a grin as she slipped from his arms and walked towards the ship with her friends, giving him one final wave from the ramp and then disappearing from his veiw. He watched as the ship left the atmosphere, his deep and aging face thoughtful. She was so much like him, buck wild with loyalty that ran deep. He remembered being her age, making unbreakable ties with his Ravager buddies just as she was with the Guardians. For all their differences and having not known each other up until about a week back, they had turned out to be two sides of the same coin. The coin had a chip on it's shoulder but a core of gold beneath it's rugged exterior that tried to tell the world that they didn't give a damn when actually they gave quite a few.


	10. Tiny Dancer

Back onboard the ship she felt like she was home. Her vacation with her dad had been fun but she had missed the crew. Groot saw her and wrapped his vines around her in happiness at her return. Drax made a perfunctory comment, but his face showed that he was glad that she had returned.

"You owe me fifty credits" Rocket said to Drax as they set out across space.

"What for?" Evelina asked lounging lazily in the co-pilot chair.

"I believed that you would not survive being surrounded by Ravagers for an entire week" he admitted.

She laughed "thanks for the vote of confidence Drax" she said shaking her head.

"He was actually quite worried about you" Mantis said, much to Drax's irritation.

"I was worried about y'all too, what with Rocket's driving" she said giving him a grin.

"Can we get rid of her again?" Rocket asked Peter.

"No" he said shaking his head. "Will you two get along?"

"Only if he stops being a jerk" she said laughing. It felt so easy being around them.

"I will if she stops being an asshat" Rocket said with a grin. Despite himself, Kraglin tensed at her being insulted. But he calmed a bit, he knew it was just banter between frenemies. He and Evelina had decided to keep their romance on the down low to prevent Peter from marooning him on a barren planet.

To celebrate her return Peter threw a dance party, which as usual consisted mainly of her and him dancing, though Groot and Kraglin did join, and Mantis attempted to dance.

They reached King Fallery's planet and got the details on their new job. They were to rescue his ten wives from the man who was holding them for ransom.

"Our jobs keep getting weirder" Rocket said shaking his head as they left Fallery's throne room and got back on the ship.

Once they had set off for the planet where the ten queens were, Peter turned on some music and then after a while of lounging around turned in. He hadn't slept well the night before, he kept having weird dreams. It seemed to be a side effect of what had happened with Ego. The others retired to their rooms leaving Kraglin to pilot.

"Wake me up when you get tired?" Peter had said to him before he had headed to his room. Rocket had made a similar offer.

Evelina slipped back out of her room and tiptoed to the pilot's chair, startling poor Kraglin.

"Sorry" she said with a smile as he opened her arms and she cuddled up next to him. He felt so proud of having her for his girl. He kissed the top of her head, contentedly snuggling with his arms around her.

"My legs falling asleep" he said standing up. It was only half the reason. He turned up the playlist that constantly played in the ship to a low volume so as to not wake the others. He pulled her out of the chair and spun her softly, dancing with her with the backdrop of deep space behind them through the window, silhouetting their dancing figures. As the song wound down he looked at her and cupped her chin, kissing her softly. He still could scarcely believe that she, a kickass bounty hunter who needed no one, allowed him to kiss and cuddle her. He felt her arms wrap around him and kissed her a little more, still swaying to the music as it played.

"What. The. Hell?" came a surprised voice that still carried the remnants of sleep.

They both looked up, their arms still around each other, looking like children caught with their hands in the cookie jar. "Please tell me I'm just having one of my weird dreams again."

"Oh grow up, Peter" Evelina said rolling her eyes and going over and giving his arm a pinch. "Yes, you are fully awake."

"I was afraid of that."

"And just what is so wrong with me and Kraglin dancing? You and Gamora dance and kiss and stuff" she defended.

"But Kraglin? Seriously sis? you could have any guy you wanted" he argued.

"So everyone keeps telling me" she said with a dramatic arm gesture of incredulity. "But you know what, so far all of them have been too scared to even ask me out" she shot back.

"So you're getting cozy with Kraglin just because he's the only one asking?" he asked in a mix of disgust and disbelief.

"No" she said slugging his arm for being such an ass. "I'm with him because he's not scared of me, which is hard to find, and because I like him" she said. Peter still seemed unmoved. "A lot, okay?"

"If you say so" he said with a shrug.

"What is all the noise?" Rocket said coming to where they were.

"Nothing" Evelina said.

"Nothing meaning Evelina and Kraglin were kissing when I came out here to ask him if he wanted me to take over flying" he said leveling a look of betrayal at the ex-Ravager.

"Really?" Rocket asked a little grossed out. "I mean you could do a little better than that" he said nodding to Kraglin.

"So help me if one more person says I could do better I will cut them in half" she fumed. A towering rage mounting inside of her. Peter suddenly sensed that both he and Rocket were pushing things a bit far, and being a little insensitive about Kraglin, who was, after all, standing right there.

"Hey" he said, getting Evelina's attention. "We're just trying to look out for you. I just thought you'd go for someone a little, well, more clean cut than a guy like him" he said trying to explain himself.

"Says the guy whose smooching on a woman who was formerly the galaxy's most wanted psycho assassin."

"Actually that was my sister Nebula" Gamora said from the doorway. No one was entirely sure how much of the preceding scene she had been a witness to.

"Sorry" Evelina said looking to the floor after she made eye contact with her roommate.

"No, you're fine. I've been called worse. Who is not okay is Peter and Rocket right now" she said putting herself between the two of them and glaring at them in turn.

"Gamora" Peter began.

"Shut it" she said looking up at him with irritation.

"Seriously Gamora, you can't be taking their side in this?" Rocket complained.

She looked down at him with a withering look.

"You're damn right I am. Why can't she be happy with Kraglin? We overlook him all the time, take him for granted like a lever or a switch or some other part of the ship. Yes, he has a past, but Evelina is no angel. None of us are. And all I'm saying is that if she thinks Kraglin is good enough for her, who are any of us to fight her on it?" She challenged.

"To be fair" Peter said after some silence "she does have a high enough opinion of herself that I'm surprised anyone meets her standards" he gave Evelina a grin and then went over to her. "I'm sorry for losing my shit on you over this" he said gesturing to Kraglin. "Buddies?" he asked putting his hand out to her.

"Buddies" she said with a smile and he took her outstretched hand and pulled her into a hug.

Rocket however stood there with his arms crossed looking peevish and stubborn.

"Rocket" she said bending down to his height.

"I still don't think he's good enough for you" he argued.

"And I still don't care what you, or anyone else" she said looking up to Peter "thinks. So you can either get over it or get used to it because I care a lot about Kraglin and don't see what you have against him."

"I don't have nothin' against him, I'm just against him and you being a thing."

She rolled her eyes. "I give up, you talk sense to him Gamora" she said taking Kraglin's hand and sailing down the hall with him in tow. She was done with them all, well really just Rocket at this point, but if Peter hadn't caught them kissing then none of this would have happened so she still harbored some irritation with him for that.

A little while later, while Kraglin and Evelina stood by the laundry machines looking out the window and waiting for the wash to get done they heard a scuffling noise by the door.

"Listen" came Rocket's raspy voice. "I ain't sayin' I'm gonna like it, but I won't fight you on it. I just thought you were more the goody-goody marry a Novacor general type."

She smiled a little. "So did I" she said stooping down to be on eye level with Rocket "but I guess love doesn't always work out the way we plan it for ourselves" she said softly.

"Well, goodnight you two" Rocket said looking up at Kraglin. "And if you screw this up Kraglin I will come after you with all the explosives I have."

"Even the ones you keep in the back of the refrigerator?" he asked perfectly serious.

"Yes, even-.. wait, how the hell do you know about those? No one is supposed to know about those!"

"Rocket, we all know about those. Ever since the time Peter tore apart the fridge looking for ketchup" Evelina commented flatly.

"Well, yes, even my now not-so-secret stash of explosives in the refrigerator!"

"Why the refrigerator, Rocket?" Evelina asked.

"The container said keep refrigerated, I thought it'd be a really good disguise for them. And you never know when some bad guy douchebag is going to show up while you're grabbing yourself some juice or something."

"Only you, Rocket. Only you" she shook her head.

As she left the room with Kraglin at her side she heard him muttering to himself.

"Great! Now I have to find a new hiding place for them. And who knows what will happen if we get attacked over breakfast now? What do we do? Throw eggs at them." There was a pause in his conversation with himself. "Maybe I can find a way to pack eggs with explosives... but then Drax or Peter would grab them instead of the real eggs and we'd all be blown to hell."


	11. Hey Jude

The Guardians landed on a dusty barren world, making no pretense of hiding their arrival. Fifteen small one man fighters came towards their ship while a squadron marched towards them on the ground. A barrage of heavy fire took out some of the equipment on their left side.

"The weapons are down" Peter said from his spot in the pilot's chair.

"On it" Rocket and Evelina said simultaneously.

"I said it first" she said with a grin, sliding from her chair behind Peter and putting on one of the spacesuits. She flew out and working a couple tools put things back in order. While outside she decided to take care of the pesky squadron.

"Is she...?" Rocket asked from the co-pilot chair in disbelief.

"Yup" Peter said shaking his head. She made him look tame when it came to being reckless. She had her pistol in one hand and a poisonous dart launcher in the other and just took out half a dozen in the space of three seconds.

Peter worried about her when he wasn't busy appreciating how good she was at kicking ass. He didn't have to worry long, Drax had jumped out of the ship and was helping her with the last score or so of soldiers.

"I had it covered" she said as she took each of her katanas and plunged them into the chests of the two guys who had come up to attack her, without batting an eye or even looking to see where she landed her blades.

"I know, but I was bored watching Peter and Rocket blow up hover crafts" he admitted. She gave him a grin and the two of them swaggered towards the entrance to the concrete fortress. She worked some tech on the door and it slid open. Drax paused, looking for the others to join them. She walked in and then suddenly the door slid behind her before Drax came through.

"Evelina!" came Peter's voice panicked over her earpiece.

"I'm fine" she said. "Guh!" came a groan over the intercom as Evelina felt a swift kick to her stomach in the darkness.

"Get down here Rocket" she heard Drax yell. Solo turned on his glowing ability giving her light. She saw five men in the darkness and pulled her pistol firing into two of them. More men came into the light of the Solo's glow. She was in unfamiliar surroundings and felt a little exposed. She cried out as her thigh was sliced open by a blade. Her shoulder nicked by a laser shot caused her to yelp. She had her back against the door with no way to open it on her side. She was cornered. She sent shots into the men as they came towards her. But then light flooded the hallway as Rocket stood there with the rest of her family. She sighed in relief. They charged forward, demolishing the enemy. Evelina couldn't help but lag behind with her wounded leg.

"Hold up" Gamora said noticing Evelina was behind the rest of them.

"No, I'm fine" she said waving them on.

"Nuh-uh" Peter said firmly.

"No, seriously, I can keep up. Don't worry about" she didn't finish her sentence because Peter had physically lifted her and was launching through the air carrying her to the ship. "I hate you." She said rolling her eyes. "I could seriously have stayed with y'all. Now, they're down both of us." He set her down on the inside the ship. "So get your ass back there" she huffed.

"You're welcome" he said rolling his eyes and blasting back towards the others. She could be so stubborn.

Evelina limped up to the main deck and took the co-pilot chair.

"Your leg" Mantis observed from her seat behind Kraglin.

"It's nothing" she dismissed. "Move in a little closer, we need Drax to be able to jump up if he needs to, seeing as he can't wear the space suits" she said with a giggle.

Kraglin did as she said. "Your leg" he said, his voice taking on a new firmness "let me see it." She tossed it up onto his lap. "Mantis, get me the first aid kit" he commanded. When he had the kit he cut away the torn fabric that obstructed his view of the wound, his cut with his jackknife precise and calculated. He put a healing ointment on it and wrapped it. He took the knife from where he had been holding it between his teeth and cut the bandage and set her leg back on the floor.

"Thanks" she said, a little surprised at how efficient a physician he was.

"Yondu said knowing how to take care of your wounds is the next most important thing to knowing how to inflict them on your enemies."

"Sounds like good advice." She stood up, testing her leg out. "Now" she said leaning over and giving his cheek a kiss "I'm getting back out there."

"No" he said looking at her with pleading.

"They might need me" she said walking towards the bay door.

"Stay here and I'll go" he offered.

She looked over her shoulder at him. Who was she trying to impress what just what was she trying to prove? Her family would be fine without her, especially if Kraglin took her place and she took command of the ship.

"Fine, but you stay here, I'm going to fix the other damages I spotted earlier" she said sliding below the floor panels to get to the control panels that had been damaged.

"Be careful" he yelled down to her.

"Why would I do something so boring?" she said, her laugh echoing up to him.

Ten minutes later Peter and the other Guardians returned, bringing the ten hostage queens with them.

"Where's Evelina?" Peter asked as he took his seat back from Kraglin.

"Down below" he nodded "making repairs."

"I'll go check on her" Rocket said. The psycho rodent slid down to where she had an electro-welder and a good old fashioned knife and pliers.

"How has this thing stayed in the sky this long?" she asked in disgust as she rerouted a couple of wires, adding to their firing power.

"Hey" he defended "you're just going to break things."

"Not true" she said as she welded some broken bits back together. "I know precisely what I'm doing, and I'm sure you do too, it's Peter's haywire tinkering that has us in this shape" she sighed.

"I heard that" he yelled from the cockpit.

"You were supposed to, you big doofus!" she shouted back up at him.

"Well" Rocket said admiring her work "at least when something breaks I know I won't be the only one who knows how to fix things around here" he crawled back out, giving her a hand up and then they replaced the covering.

"We should actually be able to stay in the sky now" she said jibing Peter.

"I think I liked it better when you two weren't getting along" he said with a groan.

"Just get us out of here" Gamora reminded him. "Who bandaged your leg?" she asked Evelina.

She just nodded to Kraglin. Gamora gave him an approving smile. It was extremely well done.

"Speaking of which, just what the hell was up with you?" Peter asked calling out Evelina as they left the atmosphere of the planet. "You'd think you had something against people helping you!"

"You know I do, and I could have stayed and helped you out, so who has the problem against help now?"

"Still you, because I didn't have a leg you could see the bone on" he retorted.

"You exaggerate" she chided "it wasn't that bad."

"I could see some of the bone when I bandaged it" Kraglin added.

"See" Peter said gesturing to the former Ravager "even Kraglin agrees."

"So you're both paranoid and blowing this out of proportion" she retorted.

"No, you're just stubborn and hell bent on getting yourself killed" he looked over his shoulder at her. "Just what is it that you have against being alive and actually letting yourself be human, or Arcturan, mortal, we'll go with mortal" he said shaking his head.

"Nothing, but mortality is weakness and I refuse to be weak" she said leaving the room.

"Well that went well" Gamora said with a sigh.

"I just worry about her is all" Peter admitted.

"Me too" Kraglin added.

"So why don't you do something about her trying to get herself killed?" Peter accused, rounding on the nearest outlet.

"I try, I did manage to get her to not go back after you brought her in with her injury" he said as a mild defense.

"You did what?" Rocket asked.

"I-" he began.

"No, I heard you, I'm just a little impressed. You actually talked brick brain out of doing something dangerous?" he said nodding his head in the direction of where she had disappeared to.

Kraglin nodded. Peter bent his focus towards piloting the ship, not wanting to think about how pissed at him Evelina probably was. He had kind of chastised her like a child. Which was really not good when compounded with the whole interlude with him losing his cool on her the night before when he had caught her and Kraglin kissing. The others all dispersed, Rocket taking the co-pilot chair and the others talking with the ten queens. Peter was too caught up in the chaos of trying to figure out how to patch things up with baby sis to even take note of the ten stunning queens as they sat and spoke in soft voices to the others. Evelina had disappeared somewhere on the ship and no one seemed to think that seeking her out was a wise option.

Kraglin switched out with Peter so he could clean up and get some rest. The queens were put up in the Mantis' and Gamora's room and she moved to the couch. She figured Evelina would find a place to sleep for herself.

She stood staring out at space around her, feeling overwhelmed. She liked this quiet little storage area with a window, it was secluded and no one ever bothered her here. She wanted to lay down and fall asleep watching the stars move by but she knew she had to make things right. With firm steps she walked to Peter's room and knocked on the door. He didn't answer. She knocked a little louder assuming he had his headphones on. He was still silent.

"Hey, Peter" she said softly "its Evelina. I'm sorry Peter" she leaned her head against the door. "I'm not good at this sort of thing. I don't know how to let people in, or let them take care of me. I know those are excuses and I'm sorry. I wish I knew how" she sighed, a hard fought tear falling from the corner of her eye. "I suck at all of this, I don't blame you for being pissed at me. I don't even know why you let me on the crew to begin with. I should probably go next time we find a good spot to part ways." More tears fell.

"You leave" she felt big strong arms wrap around her "and I will kick your ass" Peter said pulling her into a hug. He had been on the way back into his room when he had seen her standing there.

"I'm sorry" she said, falling to pieces and letting tears she had kept in all her life come pouring out.

Peter had never seen her cry before.

"Come on in" he said opening the door to his room and setting her on the edge of the bed while he looked around for some tissues. It was a minor crisis for him to see her crying. He found his clean laundry in a pile and pulled out a pair of socks. "Here" he said handing them to her "it's the best I've got" he added as an apology.

She chuckled softly as she wiped her eyes and blew her nose on his socks. He put his arm around her shoulders and she just curled into him, sobbing about what she wasn't even sure anymore.

"Shh" he soothed "it's fine" he said rubbing her shoulders, gently rocking her in his arms like a child. She was acting like the emotional child she had never been allowed to be, and he was getting to be the big strong protector that he had never gotten to be. "It'll be alright" he said taking the other sock and wiping her eyes.

"I know, I just feel like an ungrateful snotty bitch for how I acted" she said sniffling as her tears subsided.

"Well you're not an ungrateful bitch" he said defensively. "Not as sure about the snotty part" he said dabbing her nose with the sock.

"Shut up" she said chuckling, taking the sock she had and giving her nose a mighty blow.

"You good now, baby sis?" he asked looking down at her with her reddened eyes.

"Yeah" she nodded.

"Wanna listen to some tunes?" he asked offering her the other earbud as he picked his Zune up off of the nightstand.

"Of course" she said smiling, leaning her head on her big brother's big shoulder. For the first time in her life, she felt content with being weak, and someone else knowing that she was. She couldn't even think of the last time she had cried. Probably when she realized that Kohath was never coming for her. Had she even cried then? Maybe it had been at six years old watching her mother's funeral. She put it the earbud and heard a beautiful harmony and words that spoke to her. Her name might not be Jude but she certainly saw that she needed some of the advice that Jude's friends were singing to him.

"Who was Jude?" she asked when the song was over.

"I've no idea" he said grinning and then giving her temple a kiss. "But I do know you should probably get some rest. Take my bed, I'll crash with Gamora on the couch" he said giving her a smile and getting up. She opened her mouth to fight him on it but then closed it. She need to work on accepting the generosity of others, needed or no.

"G'night Pete" she said with a smile as she swung her legs up on the bed and laid back, the earbud still in her ear.

"Night baby sis" he said turning out the light leaving her in the darkness with his music to maybe help soothe her after the little breakdown she had allowed him to help her through.


	12. Follow You Follow Me

When she woke up and went into the living area she found Pete with his arms wrapped around Gamora on the couch, snoozing away with a smile on his face. Gamora was wide awake but not about to move, her own small smile on her face. She looked up when Evelina passed and moved her hand in a small wave, Evelina giving her a lazy salute of greeting as she walked past. Gamora knew Pete's "baby sis" wouldn't go around blabbing about her and Peter being cozied up on the couch, not that anyone doubted that they were a thing anyways.

Evelina was moving towards the kitchen to find something to start her day when she walked past Kraglin who was still sitting in the pilot's chair.

"You been up all night babe?" she asked still a little sleepy.

He nodded, looking up at her as she stretched and yawned.

"I can take over if you want to catch some sleep" she said sitting down beside him in the chair.

"I'll be alright" he said adjusting himself so they could both sit comfortably "especially since I've got some company to help keep me awake" he said putting a kiss to her temple.

"I can't promise that, I may fall asleep again" she said stretching herself so she laid crossways across his lap, her head propped up in the crook of his shoulder.

"Won't make any difference" he said looking at her with a smile in his grey eyes "any man who could fall asleep with a pretty woman like you around is out of their damn mind" he gave her a grin and then looked at the controls to make sure they were on course.

"You're far too sweet to me" she confessed looking up at him.

"You deserve better, but I try my best" he stated simply.

"You exceed at it" she said leaning up and giving him a kiss "I'm far luckier to have you than you are to have me." He raised an eyebrow at her. She wasn't usually the self-deprecating type. "I can be a bit of a handful and I'm not exactly the sweet girlish type" she explained with a shrug.

He thought for a moment, his face looking thoughtful. "No, but you're the kind of girl a man can trust to have his back and also to take care of herself when he's not around. I can trust you" he said in a perfectly serious tone. "And you can be pretty sweet more than you think" he smiled and gave her a kiss. She cuddled back down into his arms, content to drift into a lazy half-slumber. She wasn't sure if this was what love felt like, this perfect peace where you could say whatever you thought or felt and your person did the same and the two of you were just the perfect mix of comfortable and excited. She drifted in and out of sleep, perfectly content in his arms.

Gamora walked by seeing the mirror of what she and Peter had been earlier. Kraglin sat awake, with Evelina curled up in his lap. The look of pride on the former Ravager's face told Gamora all she needed to know. Kraglin would die for Evelina without a second thought. And people said he wasn't worthy of her, she shook her head and headed to the refrigerator to see if there was anything edible. She really did need to pick up on some cooking skills.

Peter got up not long after noticing the vacancy in his arms. He saw Kraglin fighting off sleep to keep the ship on course.

"You been up all night, get some rest" he said smiling at him. Despite himself the more he saw him and Evelina together the more he had to admit that Kraglin did seem prepared to do anything for her and might actually be worthy of her, well at least acceptable. "I got this" he said picking up Evelina so he could get up. He held his arms out to take her back and Peter handed his napping sis back to Kraglin who carried her to his room where he promptly fell asleep, his arm draped over her shoulders until his snoring woke her up and she slipped a pillow in her place and went out to join the rest of them.

"I keep falling asleep in other people's beds" she observed with a chuckle as she sat down to breakfast.

"I know how that goes" Peter said, and then cringed as Gamora shot him a look. "It was a long time ago" he defended. The two women just rolled their eyes.

She had been up for nearly seven hours and they were approaching their destination. She slipped out of the chair behind Rocket's and went to the kitchen and then disappeared down towards Kraglin's room. She sat down on the edge of the bed with the plate of breakfast in her hand. She smiled as he slept peacefully, sound as a stone. She bent down and pressed her lips to his. He woke up at the touch and softly kissed her back.

"I brought you breakfast" she said almost bashfully. He sat up and looked over at the plate and smiled. He had never known the gentleness of a woman. He had been born in poverty, spent his childhood in an orphanage, and had grown up with the Ravagers. He didn't think he had ever had anyone bring him breakfast in bed, not even when he was sick. He had been with other women of course, but they had all been brief affairs with ladies of the evening or short-lived romances with women as hard as the world they lived in. He looked into her hazel eyes and felt he could probably sit there for the next hour not moving and be completely satisfied. He not only appreciated the kindness of her bringing him food, but also the vulnerability she was showing him. She wasn't sassing off Peter or kicking ass, she was letting him see the softer side that she tried so hard to hide behind her badass bounty hunter persona.

"What?" she asked in a hushed tone, noticing the penetrating gaze he had fixed on her.

"You" he said and kissed her with confidence.

She gave him a giddy little smile and they chatted and flirted over the plate of breakfast she had brought him.

Rocket walked past the open bedroom door to see them laughing together. He had never heard her laugh like that before, it was almost girlish. He shook his head, it was weird hearing her laugh in anything but a sarcastic or pranksterish way. Maybe he had been too harsh in his judgment of Kraglin's worthiness; if he could make her that happy he must be doing something right.

They landed and everyone got off except Drax and Mantis. Peter, realizing how much they tended to leave Kraglin out, had suggested he come along with them. Drax had volunteered to stay on board with Mantis.

They all stood in the grand hall of the king's palace.

"My thanks, Guardians" the king said coming down the steps from his throne and greeting his wives. "Your pay" he said handing them a certificate of transfer of funds "please, stay, be my guests" he invited. He smiled at all of them, his eyes appreciating Gamora's looks but staying on Evelina. "Perhaps I can convince the blonde one to stay permanently, I have lodgings for another wife" he addressed her.

A sharp whistle broke through all the other sounds as Kraglin controlled the arrow and made it hover right in front of the king's nose "you so much as touch her and I'll send this straight through your noggin" Kraglin almost growled "your highness" he added out of embarrassment for the scene he had caused but the ferocity still in his eyes.

The Guardians were a mix of alarmed and impressed.

"I apologize, I did not realize she was spoken for" he said with an affable chuckle.

"Even if she wasn't I wouldn't let her go to some guy who already had ten wives" Peter interjected. He had nothing against polygamy, in fact in his early days it had seemed a great notion; having a wife on every planet he frequented. A place to lay one's head and someone to make food and share his bed. He had matured a little since then. And he certainly did not approve of the prospect of being just one of some guy's wives for his favorite sidekick.

"It's nice to know that this jewel is well protected" he said magnanimously. "Though for all our sakes perhaps it would be best if you departed with your pay and we let things end peacefully."

"Yeah, that sounds like the best plan" Peter said and they all made bows in varying degrees of obeisance and then turned and swaggered out of the palace.

Back aboard the ship they sat and joked about how the king had thought he had a chance of adding a kickass woman like Evelina to his harem.

"You threatened the king?" Drax asked joining the conversation.

Kraglin looked sheepish.

"Yes he did" Evelina said with a beaming smile of pride while she sat next to him on the sofa.

"Peter did too" he said trying to shift the focus off of himself, he wasn't used to it.

"Yeah, but I didn't put an arrow in front of his head and tell him to go to hell quite like you did" Peter said grinning from his spot across the living room leaning against the wall. He was beginning to appreciate the finer points of Kraglin's character that he had overlooked their entire acquaintance. He also appreciated that someone else was ready to defend Evelina at an instant. He still resented the boy getting all cuddly and stuff with the girl he had appropriated as his baby sister.

"So, what's next?" Kraglin asked.

"Take a break?" Peter suggested.

"We've got more money than we could possibly spend before we find our next juicy job" he said.

"Speak for yourself" Rocket added from his seat in the pilot's chair.

Evelina was silent for a while. "Could we..." her voice trailed away.

"Could we what?" Peter asked. "You name it and we probably can."

"Could we visit Xandar?" She suddenly had a longing to return to the world she had left in the dust. She had straightened herself out enough that she felt comfortable going back for a visit. Not simply that, she felt compelled to.

"Sure, maybe we can check in with the Novacor and see if they have any work for us" Peter suggested.

"Why Xandar?" Drax asked.

"I grew up there, and it's where most of my money goes" she added. "I would like to see how it's been used in the past few years."

"What do you mean?" Mantis asked.

"She gives to charities there" Kraglin supplied. He could tell it was a deeply personal topic for Evelina and that explaining she funded orphanages might spark more of Mantis' curiosity than she felt like dealing with.

After the others had dispersed Kraglin and her remained on the couch together.

"Could you show it to me?" he asked, forgetting there had been a half hour of silence between them.

"What?" she asked looking up at him in confusion.

"Where you grew up? the orphanage." His grey eyes looked at hers with a desire to know more of her, to see the places that pieced together her story. Everyone knew the Darsca Xandahlia that put her life on the line for bounty jobs, but he wanted to know the scared little girl Darsca who had been brought up without anyone and had made herself into the other woman. He knew what loneliness felt like, he had even spent some time in the orphanages on his home world, but he wanted to know more of her. To be entirely honest he wanted to know everything, but would be content with knowing what she allowed him to know.

Her face was thoughtful for a moment. "Sure" she said with a shrug trying to act like it didn't matter in the least "why not?" she smiled up at him and then left to find some food. She was still acclimatizing herself to someone being so keenly interested in who she was not simply what she was capable of. She felt strange and strong sensations gripping her heart and calling her out from the protective shell she had built around herself. A soft voice inside her mind told her that not only did Kraglin quite possibly love her, but she very easily might be in love with him as well.


	13. Yellow Submarine

It was raining when they landed on Xandar. The soft patter sounding in the background as they got off the ship made all of the crew feel a little more relaxed.

"While we're here I could do with doing some shopping" Rocket said with a grin.

"Me too" Evelina said with a smile.

"What are you shopping for?" he asked.

"New dartgun, and maybe a dress" she commented. She looked out across the expanse of the city. "You guys want to come with?" she asked.

"Where to?" Rocket asked "because I ain't dress shopping" he said with a shudder.

"No bandit hamster" she rolled her eyes. "I meant to the orphanage. Y'all have become family for me, I figured you could see where it all began" she said suddenly feeling nervous and exposed.

"Of course I would" Mantis said.

"I think I'll pass" Peter said with a shudder. He hated orphanages, all those kids with stories even sadder than his own. Gamora glared at him and yanked his arm taking him over to the side.

"You're gonna go" she insisted.

"But I don't like orphanages" he wheedled.

"And I don't care, if you care about Evelina you'll go" she insisted.

"I'm sure she'll understand" he argued.

"Look" Gamora gestured towards the others. Peter turned and saw Evelina's face. She looked crushed. "You're her idol. Like it or not you have taken on the role of big brother to her, you can't let her down now" she insisted. "Besides I'm going" she said walking over to Evelina and linking arms with her.

"You didn't have to do that" Evelina said when Gamora came over.

"He gets his way too much as is, and I know this means a lot to you" she said

Evelina nodded. Kraglin came up beside her. He didn't feel snubbed in the least by the fact that she had invited all the others to come along. He knew that while he meant a lot to her so did the others. Not just Peter and Rocket but all of them. She had assembled a family out of the ragtag bunch of scoundrels and scallywags that made up the Guardians of the Galaxy.

"So where is this place?" Peter asked coming alongside her.

"Follow me" she said walking down the streets. She hadn't been there in years but she still knew her way around the curves and alleys as though she hadn't left a day. The others watched her as she looked around her, noticing everything that had changed and everything that had remained the same.

"I got my first job in that building" she said with a smile. "It was a banking firm at the time" she commented with a nostalgic look in her hazel eyes. She wandered down the streets until a building wholly unrecognized by her stood erected where the orphanage had been. It covered the entire block.

"Excuse me" she said going up to a man on the street.

"Yes" he said looking at her as though she seemed vaguely familiar.

"What happened to the orphanage?"

"What do you mean?" he asked in confusion.

"Carasca's Home for Foundlings and Impoverished Orphans" she said reciting the title of what had been her only home for her childhood.

"Oh" he said "you mustn't have been around for a while" he smiled. "That's the orphanage" he said pointing to the large stone building with what looked like a large sprawling park surrounding it. "Of course it's called Xandahlia's Charity Home now."

She looked at him, her eyes wide. "They renamed it?"

"Of course, least they could do" he said, a smile of recognition coming into his eyes "after everything she has done for the orphans of this city, they should rename the street for her too. It's strange that a woman with such a rough life has such a soft spot for philanthropy" he observed and then disappeared into the crowd of pedestrians.

She stood there stunned. She was famous not just for her bloody work but unbeknownst to her she had become known for her charitable side. The rest of the galaxy might not be aware of her softer side, but the world she had called home before taking flight for the stars knew the kindness she was capable of. Maybe she didn't have to live up to an image that wasn't even entirely believed by all the citizens of the universe.

She reached for whoever's hand was nearest her for support. Not caring if it was Kraglin or Peter's. They walked in together looking at the entrance. There was her invented last name carved into the stone mantle above the door.

"Can I help you?" asked a sweet woman at the door. "Are you looking for your child perhaps?"

"No" she heard Kraglin say and felt him drop her hand.

"No, I'm just visiting. I once lived here" she said looking around at the renovated and enlarged interior. It had been a dismal grey when she had lived there. Now there were windows but the laughter of the children still remained.

"Could I give you a tour of our recently rebuilt facility perhaps?" the petite brunette offered with a gracious smile.

"That would be great" she said smiling, a hint of nervousness in her eyes. "Why was it redone?" she asked.

"Well a lot of it was destroyed when the Guardians saved us from Ronan the Accuser" she said lightly and then looked at the others where they stood a little ways behind Evelina. "Did they go here too?" she asked in a hushed whisper.

"No, they're just friends of mine" she said quietly.

"Look!" cried a little girl who had been playing tag in the lobby "it's Gamora" her and her playmates rushed over and started a deluge of questions and praise for her and Drax and Peter. Groot was spotted and promptly surrounded and Rocket would have been treated likewise had he not slunk around and hidden himself in the area around Darsca and the receptionist.

The woman showed them the new hospital wing and the library. There were classrooms for the teachers who now worked directly for the orphanage.

"And here we have our very own director" she said gesturing inside the office spaces "Mrs-"

"Carasca" Evelina said with a smile.

"Who's saying my name?" Evelina came in.

She sighed. "It's me" she said coming over and taking her hands.

"I know who I think that is, but I can't believe it" she said taking Evelina's face in her hands.

"Oh, it is, that girl who could never stay out of fights or trouble and had an attitude that needed a room of its own" she threw her arms around her. "Evelina" she said "and don't correct me, the galaxy may know you by a new name but I'll always use your proper one" she said tears in her white eyes.

"I thought I told you the last time I was here to buy yourself a visual interpreter" she chastised.

"I know, but there's always a child who needs something more than I need to see" she shrugged "I've lived this way for so long I'm not sure I know how to change."

"I know a little of what that is like" she said "but I've found its possible. I even go by my actual name with my friends now."

"Is that who you brought with you?" she asked.

"Yes, there's Kraglin" she said putting his hand in hers "and you might of heard of a creature called Rocket" she commented with a grin.

"You've got yourself an interesting assortment of friends" she commented.

"The rest of them are downstairs" Rocket said awkwardly putting his paw in the old woman's hand. He was more moved than he cared to admit. This woman who had so much to make her bitter and had spent her life taking care of other people's kids. "They got swamped by the kids, so I high-tailed it before some brat tried to pet me or something" he tried to restrain a growl of disgust at the prospect.

She chuckled with laughter like a waterfall.

"What took you so long to come back?" she asked Evelina.

"I didn't know if I was ready" she said with a sigh "to face my past. I've seen him" she informed Carasca.

"How did it go?"

"He's as much of an asshole as you told me he was, and he lied to our father saying I was dead. So I lost him for good but gained my father after all these years, plus Pete is the kind of big brother a lonely child dreams of" she said chuckling.

"If this child is certifiably insane and enjoys the company of a 6'2" five-year-old" Rocket said snarkily.

"You're 6'2" now Evelina?" she asked with another laugh. "So you've adopted Star-Lord as your new and improved big brother" she observed "I can see how that would happen."

"Director, it's time for the afternoon meeting" her secretary said coming in.

"Well, the job doesn't end even for extraordinary company" she said taking Evelina's hand again. "You could sit in the meeting if you like? Find out just how we spend all that money you send us" she added.

"So long as you're in charge I know it's going to be spent well, and I should probably get going back down to the others before they try to plant Groot in the garden or something" she chuckled. "But I'll visit again before I leave" she said.

"You better, I'm much less busy in the evening" she told her.

"Goodbye Mama Carasca" she said kissing her brow.

"See you later Evelina" she waved towards them and heard their footsteps go down the hall.

When they returned to the lobby Evelina saw Peter stooped down with a group of twenty or so children gathered around him as he told them a story.

"... you see" she heard him saying to them "it's doing good stuff like that while being super kickass that makes her a bigger hero than any of us" he gestured towards the other Guardians. "Without Darsca this place wouldn't be half so nice and some of you wouldn't have rooms or maybe even room to stay here at all" he smiled at the kids. "So why don't you tell her thank you?" he suggested.

"But where do we find a master bounty hunter?" one of the boys asked.

"Well today the answer is right behind you" he grinned "though good thing y'all are all good guys otherwise that sentence would be a whole lot scarier" he chuckled and stood up, mussing the little boy's hair. The kids all swarmed around Darsca telling her thank you and wondering about all her adventures and how she had become a bounty hunter after she had left the orphanage and a dozen other questions.

She felt overwhelmed. Soon the other guardians moved their fans her way too, except Groot, he was completely happy with the ten toddlers all trying to climb him. He was careful to make sure none got too high and to catch any who came near falling. She sat down surrounded by the children whose lives she helped to improve with the money she collected from jobs and told them of her life at the home for foundlings and how she had trained hard and gotten a job just down the street retrieving an asset for a banker. She felt that she was doing terribly. She didn't want to encourage kids to go and become bounty hunters and live her life. She wanted to run but Kraglin's hand on her shoulder comforted her. Dinner time came and the kids reluctantly were rounded up to go to the cafeteria. She looked behind her at where Kraglin had been standing, there were a damp tracks on his face.

"I wish I had someone tell that kind of story when I had been their age" he said trying to keep a firm upper lip.

"Really? What would you have done differently?" she asked standing up.

"Been my own person, not who people wanted me to be, and chosen the path of honor not simply that of profit" he told her.

She didn't know what to say so she took his hand and walked over to the others.

"What do you say we skip anymore nostalgia for the rest of the day and go buy some guns" Rocket suggested.

"Or" she suggested "we all go clean up and then paint the town!" she grinned down at him.

"That sounds good too" he said with a smirk.

"I still need to go on a quick shopping trip."

"For clothes?" Gamora asked.

She nodded.

"What do you say we ditch them and go buy something for the night?" she suggested.

"Hell yeah" she grinned "those two will not be looking at anyone besides their own girl" she gestured to Kraglin and Pete and then herself and Gamora.

"Nothing too crazy" Peter said protectively of his baby sis.

"Seriously Pete?" she asked with an eyeroll.

"See y'all later" she said waving as her and Gamora left them all standing there.

"They're going to come back dressed to kill, you know that right?" Rocket said. He could tell where the look of mischief in Evelina's eyes was leading.

"That's very appealing where one of them is concerned and absolutely not okay where the other one is" he said.

"Or, as I was thinking, I'm either going to have a heart attack or be killed" Kraglin admitted.

Peter gave him a look as he processed what he had said "damn right" he said warningly "in fact either one could get you killed depending on just how you end up behaving" he warned.

"I take your wanting to kill me for granted Quill" he said with a brotherly chuckle. He had watched Pete grow up after all, being just a few years older than him himself. He wished he had been the brother figure to the boy like Pete was being for Evelina. They went back to the ship both anticipating and dreading the return of Gamora and Evelina.


	14. Rebel Rebel

Peter got a call a few hours later from Gamora on their comlink.

"What is it?" he asked answering.

"Meet us at the Corandella Club in about a half hour" she told him.

"You guys aren't coming back to the ship?" he asked in surprise.

"We decided to get ready while we were out" she said casually, he could hear Evelina giggling in the background. They were certainly in for something that night, what, he wasn't exactly sure but it wouldn't be a night soon forgot he knew that much.

He rounded up the other guys, Kraglin being reluctant to set out until he got his hair styled just right. They tracked their way to the club. The entrance looked like the perfect mix of gaudy neon and upscale fun. Peter caught his reflection in the glass in a shop window and fixed a rogue curl of hair. With a grin to himself and at the endless prospects the evening offered he and the others went in.

The music was head-splittingly loud just like Pete liked it and there was a throng of people ambling around. Some on the way to the bar, some to the dance floor but once his eyes locked on Gamora everything, including the music, disappeared for a moment.

She stood there at the bar in a gold dress that slinked over her curves but flared just a tad around her hips and shimmered with the slightest movement. Rocket shook his head, Quill was a goner. He chuckled as he looked from Peter to Kraglin. He snickered to himself at how the Ravager's eyes reminded him of those dramatic Earth cartoons that Peter would watch with the character's eyes popping out and their jaw on the floor.

"It's about time" Evelina said the same way she would have had she been in her boots and blood-stained pants. She walked over to them.

The spell Peter was under broke as he looked to his baby sis. His eyes narrowed.

"Just what are you trying to do? start another fight" he asked.

"Can't a girl get dressed up?" she asked innocently.

"Not like this baby sis" he shook his head. She was far too satisfied with all the heads she and Gamora were turning and the glint in her eyes of satisfaction at how she had seemingly disabled Kraglin's capability of articulate speech. He had started to speak about three times now before losing the sentence before it started.

"Give her a break Peter" Gamora interceded, an amused expression on her own face.

"I still think that slit is way too high" he muttered.

"One, you sound like an old man" Evelina laughed. "And two, what about Gamora's dress?" she challenged "It's only a couple inches longer than the stopping point on the slit in mine, but I don't see you complaining about that" she made a sassy victory face and took Kraglin's arm.

He looked down at her in her dark hunter green dress, the sleeves hanging off her shoulders and the controversial slit going up most her leg. Everyone but Drax and Rocket went for the dance floor, Mantis tried to dance but opted for keeping Drax company and in line.

If Kraglin had been smitten at the sight of her, he was on cloud nine with pride at the fact that she refused the many offers others gave her. Gamora was trying to talk Peter out of forcing her to dance in front of everyone.

"I'm a deadly assassin okay" she argued "we don't dance!"

"I'm a lethal bounty hunter and I do, what's the difference?" Evelina said coming over.

"But I was raised by a Titan" she countered "I was hated and feared most of my life" she persisted.

"Your point?" Peter asked.

"I don't dance" she responded "not in public for sure."

"I think you're overthinking this a bit. You may have been an assassin and the daughter of a crazed Titan, but you're also a Guardian of the Galaxy now, and that other life is part of your past" Evelina said "so get off your ass and dance with my brother before I find a way to make you" she said seriously, but with a grin in her eyes.

"Fine" Gamora said with a huff and grabbed a stunned but delighted Peter's hand and dragged him onto the dance floor. He couldn't wipe the big idiot grin off of his face. If Evelina could pull that off, well maybe she could wear whatever the heck she wanted to. He owed her big time. He looked down and saw that Gamora was smiling in spite of herself. A triumphant grin spread across his face.

"Shut up" she muttered and he simply pulled her closer in the dance.

Evelina went over to the bar to get another drink and check on the others. Rocket was in a drinking competition with some burly alien with olive green skin. Drax was explaining to Mantis what an arm wrestle was as they observed two men go into one. Evelina walked over. She watched as the two guys contended against each other. She smiled to herself as the victor drunkenly shouted his exultation.

"I'll take you on?" she said with a smug smile.

"You?" he said looking her over. She looked like a fashion piece not a fighter. "You must have had too many" he roared in laughter.

"Someone has, but it's not me" she said "not yet anyways."

"Fine, what's the bet love?" he asked. "You buy me a drink and give me a kiss if I win?"

She cringed. "And if I win you leave for the night" she said.

They locked arms and proceeded to compete. Drax and Mantis cheering for her. She waited for him to waiver and then pushed with extra muscle. His hand began to decline towards the table, panic flooded his eyes and it was then that she felt pain hit her leg. She lost focus and he gained the advantage and pinned her arm down.

"Cheat" some of the spectators murmured.

"I won" he gloated in a yell. "Now give me my prize" he gave her a grin that made her skin crawl and held his arms open. She would give him a kiss. "So how about that kiss?" he said smugly as she stood up. She went up to him, faking a look of placid disinterest to cover her complete loathing and then she swung her head back and plowed it into his face.

"He said kiss" she said looking down at the man unconscious at her feet, her dainty black high heeled shoe resting on his chest "he didn't specify what kind."

"What kind of kiss is that?" Drax asked confused.

"Liverpool, apparently, Peter told me about them" she smiled and walked to the bar, buying two drinks and putting the second on the unconscious man's chest.

She found Kraglin at the bar, watching Rocket's drinking competition.

"So you can hold your own in an arm wrestle, what about your stomach, can it hold up?" a man who had watched the arm wrestle challenged.

"You wanna go?" she said gesturing to the variety of alcohol on display behind the bar.

"It's on" he responded.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Kraglin asked.

"I'll be fine" she said dismissively. And with no further ceremony, her and her challenger ordered the bartender to line up some shots. Kraglin stood by in case she needed to be checked from doing injury to herself in the name of competition.

A half hour passed and she swaggered away, a little less stable than she had been when they had arrived. She leaned on Kraglin and undid her shoes. She'd risk bare feet before she risked running amock in high heels. She wondered how the other girls around her managed to do it.

"There you are" Peter said. He had been planning on asking Evelina for a dance when a nice fast and fancy dancing kind of number came on but she hadn't been there.

"Hey!" she shouted like she hadn't seen him in six months.

Peter looked dubious, his eyes demanding an answer from Kraglin.

"Don't look at me, I tried to talk her out of it" he said raising his hands.

"Out of what?" Gamora asked coming over.

"The drinking competition" he answered.

"Did she win?" Peter asked eagerly, receiving a glare from Gamora.

"I did!" she said gleefully. Peter took her into his arms to dance with her as a faster number came on. He couldn't help but be proud of her, even if Gamora thought drinking games were stupid.

They danced and she told him over great victories so far that evening.

"I'll have the next" said a stranger on the dance floor as the song ended.

"I'm sure Peter would be flattered" she said gesturing to him with an outrageous grin on her face "but you're just not his kind of guy."

The man looked befuddled and after the first moment of confusion Peter's face became one of irritated indulgence. She was even more of a minx when she got drunk apparently. She moved to go find Gamora when the man grabbed her arm "I meant with you little lady."

She stood unsteadily on her feet, rounding on him. "I am Darsca Xandahlia, I'm no little lady, and if you don't let go of my arm you'll find out just how big of a badass this 'little lady' is."

"You couldn't see straight to punch me if you wanted to" he sneered.

"Maybe not, but I can" Peter said and plowed his fist into the guys face. Kraglin came over while the man's friends joined in and backed him up. The brawl began to spread, people who didn't even know the cause joined in. At last the ruckus roused Drax and with his arrival all opposition dispersed pretty quickly.

The bar vanquished and Evelina and Rocket soundly plowed they decided it was time to head back to the ship. Peter flopped his sister over his shoulder while Drax carried Rocket similarly; the raccoon muttering an unintelligible monologue to himself.

"I'll take her from here" Kraglin said as Peter moved her off his shoulder, the bounty hunter soundly asleep already.

"Well that was certainly a night for the books" he said with a smile. "Rocket and Evelina won drinking competitions, we started a brawl, and apparently she did a Liverpool kiss on some guy" Peter said.

"What?" Kraglin asked suddenly concerned.

"It's where you headbutt someone in the face" he explained.

"Oh" he said with a sigh of relief as he took her and carried her to her room. Gamora was walking out towards the living area. "I think I'll stay and you know, look over her, in case she gets sick" Kraglin said, settling his back against the edge of Evelina's bed.

Gamora nodded. After checking on Rocket and talking with Peter she went back to her room. Kraglin was still there, dozing slightly, but still ready to be on bucket duty should the need arise.


	15. You May Be Right

A week passed and they decided that break time was over and they were due to get back into the grind. Besides the Novacor could only turn a blind eye to so much kleptomania. Rocket kept claiming he had 'bought' this or that explosive as he stockpiled into the ship anything he could possibly need and quite a few things that he didn't.

"What is it with you and people's artificial extremities?" Evelina asked as she came into his room and saw him sorting through his hoard. She saw a pile of them along with a variety of items labeled 'danger', 'explosive', and 'highly flammable'.

He ignored her comment. "Just don't touch anything" he warned.

"I had no intention of doing so" she said carefully stepping over the piles of weaponry and tech.

"We outta Xandar yet?" he asked.

"Just left" she told him. "Carasca told me" she said stooping down in a clear patch on the floor in front of him.

"I told her not to" Rocket mumbled.

"Well, I kind of forced it out of her, she was trying not to tell me. And I promise I won't say a word to the others. Not even Pete" she smiled at him.

"Thanks" he murmured while tinkering with the beginnings of what would be a bomb

"Why'd you do it?"

"Because she's a good person, maybe the first I've met" he said shaking his head.

"I know what you mean, you, me, Gamora, Peter, Kraglin. We do good stuff, but also a lot of bad, and even if we just did the good that wouldn't make us good."

"Yeah" he said nodding "somethin' like that. You wanna help me make a bomb?" he asked changing the subject.

"Hell yeah! Who we blowin' up?" she asked.

"We'll figure that part out later, probably someone mean and ugly."

"Now Rocket, I think that's taking your self-destructive tendencies a little too far" she mockingly chastised.

"Shut up blondie" he said and handed her some wires.

There had become an unspoken bond between them over the secret of his leaving a visual interpreter for Carasca to use. They both understood doing good things in spite of oneself. She had not expected, nor really wanted, the orphanage renamed after her. She preferred to be feared but have a gentle side than to have a fearsome side behind a gentle persona.

Kraglin took the co-pilot chair in Rocket's absence. They sat in quiet for a while. Peter was in a thoughtful mood, which was unusual for him. Kraglin too seemed to be pondering some weighty matter.

"Quill" Kraglin said breaking the silence.

"Yeah" he said lazily, coming out of his reverie.

"You think there's any chance for guys like us convincing girls like ours to settle down?" he asked.

Peter's eyes widened. He had not expected a question like that, not for some time, hopefully never. But Kraglin had known him since he was a boy and there were few filters between them by this point. They had been Yondu's two unofficial children. Kraglin filling the role of the older sibling who was blamed for all the wrong and held to the higher standard or ignored entirely. Whereas Peter had been allowed to run around like a hellion, give or take the weekly threats of being eaten.

He looked over to Kraglin, the man's face was a mix of so many emotions that he could tell that he was entirely in earnest. The unsettling part was that Peter's mind had been traveling a similar course. Would Gamora ever allow herself to become some guy's wife, much less a guy like him?

"I don't know" Peter said after such a long silence that Kraglin had just assumed that his question was going to be left unanswered.

Kraglin was silent for a long while again but Peter knew the conversation wasn't over. Kraglin's habit when he was discussing important ideas was to take an unusually long time before speaking them. He suspected that it was because he wanted to make sure it sounded right before he said it, rather than just blurting out what was on his mind, like Evelina or himself would do, and certainly Rocket fell in that list too.

"The way I see it, Pete, they're just fine on their own, they don't need us, so what do we do to convince them to stick around with us? Like we're both walking disasters, and don't deny it Quill, we both know it's true. Which one is more that way is a debate for another time" he said giving a smartass look to Peter. "So as much as I love Evelina, I'm not sure if it will last or if she'll just get tired and want her independence and start being a loner again. I'd like for her to want to settle down enough to maybe stay long-term" he said softly.

"Well" Peter said, a sassy look of his own coming over his face "I want her to stick around too. I want her to stay with us so much that even if it means her having to be stuck with you permanently I'll just have to be that charitable" Peter said with a grin. "Bless her heart for it though" he chuckled "because you're certainly the bigger disaster of the two of us Kraglin."

"How do you figure that, Quill?"

"Because you're the one that's thinking of being stuck around a loud-mouth smartass for the rest of your life" he joked.

"Well I've spent the last twenty-seven years stuck around one, at least this one is significantly more attractive and can cook better too" he said giving Peter a sarcastic look.

Peter opened his mouth for a rebuttal, but paused, finding none. "Fair enough" he said "you must be a glutton for punishment Kraglin" he laughed. He was slightly unsettled by the fact that Kraglin, who had known Evelina much less time than he had known Gamora was already contemplating commitment. He vaguely wondered if Kraglin was right and that their girls were too independent to ever settle down. He shrugged it off, worrying about the future wasn't his style.

Kraglin, however, was the sort to think long and deep about things. His silence unnerved Peter after their recent conversation so he flipped on the speakers and started playing some tunes. Billy Joel's voice and a great beat came on and he grinned. He looked up as Evelina came into the cockpit. She grabbed his hands and pulled him.

"Dance off Star-Serf" she said grinning.

"You're a mess" he said laughing as they started to dance and Kraglin took over piloting, chuckling to himself. Gamora came in and laughed quietly at the absurd made up dance moves the two of them were doing.

"What do you call that one, Peter? The waltzing bilgesnipe" she suggested with a grin.

"Gamora here does not appreciate the finer points of dance" he said coming over to her and legitimately waltzing with her.

"Let go of me" she said laughing softly as she escaped his arms. "You two can do the dancing thing endlessly, I can only take so much" she said moving on towards the kitchen. Evelina bowed out and followed her.

"Gamora" Evelina said looking in the fridge for some food.

"Hm?" she responded with her mouth full.

"Do you love Peter?" she asked. The assassin was floored by her directness, but that was her style, she didn't know subtlety. "Sorry, that was kind of rude, but I'm not trying to interrogate you about it, I just don't know who else to ask. It's not like I have a lot of friends."

Gamora relaxed a bit and allowed herself a small chuckle. "I don't mind" she said. "And truthfully, I'm no better at knowing than you. People like us, we've grown up being so tough that we don't know when gentle things are real or not. And this may be just me, but trusting that someone is genuinely interested in you and not just trying to get something out of you is hard."

"Trust me, that's not just you. I mean I know there is nothing that Kraglin is trying to get from me" she allowed herself a snicker "well give or take a couple of obvious things that come with the territory of this kind of interaction, but even those he's not being pushy about."

Gamora could have sworn she caught the faintest trace of a blush on the bounty hunter's face.

"What brought all this on anyways Evelina?" She hoped that maybe if she found out the root of why her friend was having these questions maybe she could offer some insight.

"Because he said it last night, out by that fountain me and Peter soaped" she said chuckling. "In the middle of being soaking wet and covered in soap bubbles he said it, and I just kind of stared at him. All I said was 'thanks', and it's not like I don't like him, a lot in fact. But I'm not even sure if I'd know what love was if it was a gun in my face."

"You asked Peter about any of this yet?"

"Hell no!" she said emphatically.

"I see your point there" Gamora said with a shrug. "You could try Drax, he's the only one on this ship whose actually had a successful long-term relationship." She shook her head, that was just strange, the fact that 'the Destroyer' was the only one to navigate a romance like a sane person. Peter was now hers but a former Romeo, previous to him her only romantic involvements had been those of extracting information out of people by using her seductive charm if brute force was not an option. Rocket, well the poor creature was alone in the universe, hardly likely that he could find something like enough to himself to be interested in. Groot was kind of in the same situation as Rocket there too. They really were a band of misfits.

Evelina hesitated. "Why not?" she conjectured and loped away to find the Destroyer and seek his wise advice on affairs of the heart. At the very least she knew it would be interesting, helpful was an entirely different matter.

She found him sharpening his knives.

"Can I bother you for a minute?" she asked.

"You may" he said, not looking up from his work.

"I needed some advice" she said nervously pulling a chair across from him "and I tried Gamora but she was no help."

"What troubles you?" he asked ceasing his work and looking over at her.

"Kraglin" she said with a sigh.

"If he has harmed you I shall separate his intestines from the rest of his body" he threatened.

"No, no, no... nothing like that. He's not harmed or hurt me in any way." She sighed once again. "It's more I know how I feel about him, but I don't know what I feel. I've spent so much time on my own that I don't think I know what love is" she said looking at the ceiling.

"You think too much" Drax observed.

"Maybe, but I don't want to say the words if I don't actually feel them" she confessed.

"That is good. But you think too much, do you enjoy Kraglin's company?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Would you risk your life for him?"

"Yes."

"Would you be comfortable spending the rest of your life with him?" he asked.

She paused, uncertain. "I think so, I mean, if I were ever to settle in with someone I feel it would be him."

Drax nodded. "And does his well-being mean more to you than anything else in the universe?"

"I don't know" she said.

"Think on that" he said picking up his sharpener once again and running the blade of his knife over it.

"And if the answer is yes?" she asked.

"Then what you feel for Kraglin is love" he said looking up at her as she stood to leave.

"It's that simple."

"Love was never made to be complex" he said "people make it so, quite often without need."

"How did it go?" Gamora asked when she came into their room.

"I got something of an answer, he asked me questions, and I think once I answer the hard ones I'll have my answer" she shrugged "or so he said." She flopped onto the bed.

"So what was Drax's criteria?" Gamora asked after some silence.

Evelina looked up in surprise and then told her the details of her conversation with Drax.


	16. Stray Cat Strut

They were on their way to look into some hostilities, the popular belief was that it was the Kree. They were to go to Zelfascia, a tropical and densely forested world with stories of mysterious savage animals. Nova Prime had commissioned them to do it. And what the hell, it seemed like fun.

"You've got a call baby sis" Peter said coming to the door of her and Gamora's room.

"What?" she said looking up.

"It's your dad" he explained.

"Thank" she rerouted it to her room.

"Evie" he said with a smile, seeing her face appear on the screen.

"Dad" she said returning the smile.

"How are things?" he asked. He wanted to catch up a little bit before he told her the details about Kohath's movements.

"Good, we're heading to a job on Zelfascia" she said.

"To look into Kree activity?" he asked, his face turning stern.

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Because that's who your brother is teaming up with now to try and eradicate both you and the Guardians."

She was silent for a long moment. "You don't think it's a trap for us then do you?"

"It most certainly is, but you know what it is now, and you'll also have backup. We're going after him too." He sighed and shook his head. "I thought showing him mercy and not killing him would make him see his wrongs and change for the better. I just drove him to worse" he looked at her through the screen and felt hope at the idea that not all of his children had been failures.

"When do you think you'll arrive there, so we can coordinate. I mean, how is this going to go down? Should we plow in guns blazing and y'all be the surprise force or did you have something else in mind?"

"Let me talk it over with my team and you with yours and I'll call you back in a couple of hours" he told her.

When all was said and done the two teams had a long video call and hashed out the details. Kraglin and Peter both realized how even though it was the past for them, the Ravagers would always be familiar and feel a little like home.

Afterward, Kraglin found Peter. "I don't wanna sit this one out cap'n" he said firmly.

"I need someone to stay with the ship" he said.

"Pick someone else then. I could train Mantis" he said.

"You're the best pilot other than me and Rocket, and you know he's not going to want to stay cooped up waiting for the action to end. We need someone we can trust to stay with the ship" he said sadly. He understood why Kraglin wanted to go so bad, and to be fair it might be good if he was with Evelina if she had to face her brother again. "See who you can find, but it has to be someone whose flown before, I'm not trusting this to some green pilot" he said understandingly.

"Yes, sir" he said and walked off. He didn't want to, but he knew who he would have to convince to stay.

He put his head down under the floor panel where Rocket was working.

"Hey Kraglin" he said looking up.

"I need you to do something for me" he began. After he explained what it was he needed Rocket's instant response was 'no'.

"Would you do it for Evelina?" he asked.

"Probably not, but more likely" he admitted.

"Well pretend it's for her, because if it wasn't for her I wouldn't care either way."

"You really do love her, don't you?" he asked, curiosity in his voice. He didn't understand quite what love felt like. There was no hope of him finding a mate, so it intrigued him the grief and sacrifice other people went through over their significant others.

"Yeah" he admitted after a bit, nervously biting his lip.

"Alright" he said "just this once, and only because she saved my life even when she hated my guts."

"She told me about that" he said "and she never hated your guts, she just thought you were a hilarious... what is it that she calls you?" he asked.

"Bandit hamster" he supplied, he didn't know what exactly it was, but now that she had joined his circle of screwed up friends he took it as an endearment, after all, she still called Peter Star-Serf and those two were closer than actual blood brother and sister.

"Yeah, that" he chuckled. "And thanks" he said getting up to go.

"Don't thank me" he said "because if anything happens to her I'm holding you personally responsible Kraglin."

"Understood." He walked into the cockpit and found her in the co-pilot's seat. He gave Peter a look that told him that he had resolved the situation and not long after Pete vacated giving the two some space. He hated to admit it but Kraglin was seeming more worthy of his baby sis every day... well if anyone was. The seedy Ravager had such a soft side where Evelina was concerned that there wasn't anything he wouldn't do for her.

The hours passed and soon enough they were there.

"You're coming?" Evelina asked, surprised when she saw Kraglin leaving the ship with them.

He just nodded and put his arm around her shoulders. They exchanged a smile and then separated, Kraglin shouldering his rifle and keeping the arrow at the ready.

She smiled, it felt warm and comforting to have him by her side. He steadied her emotions, which were currently at risk of going out of control.

They trekked through the forest, a sinister growling coming from the bushes. Evelina sent Solo to discover its source. She pointed to where he had located a fearsome wild cat-like creature, Kraglin whistled and sent the arrow over there, a yowl of pain and a thud telling them that he had hit his mark.

They walked into the clearing where the base was. Stakar had contacted them letting them know that he had staked out and surrounded it the night before.

"Well, well, well" came Kohath's voice as the doors to the base slid open "I see you brought your friends" he observed snidely.

"Damn right she did" Peter said.

"The lonely child who's adopted my sister as his own" he observed.

"Well at least I'm smart enough to appreciate what she is, not some jackass like you" he said resting his hand on his laser pistol.

"Oh, I appreciate what she is" he said "she's a weapon, a deadly one."

A sharp whistle cut through the air "she's not a weapon" Kraglin said, making the arrow hover in front of Kohath's head "she's a person."

"And just who the hell do you think you are, Ravager?" Kohath asked. He saw the flames on his jacket, though he knew nothing more of him.

"The man who care about her" he said and unceremoniously whistled darting his arrow through Kohath's skull and sending it through the six guards who had accompanied him.

"Well" Peter said "that was unexpected all around."

"No one calls my girl a weapon" he looked down at Evelina "you're worth so much more than just the amount of ass you can kick." He said and started towards the door to the base, ready to rout out any other bad guys that might be lurking inside. They all followed in something of a stunned silence. No one would have picked Kraglin to be a leader, but apparently, if you screwed with his girlfriend that's what he became. No one had seen it coming but none of them complained. They went through the base, taking out Kree and other cronies of Kohath's.

Kohath had planned for men to be hiding in the woods and trap them in the base once he feinted and they pursued. But his plan had failed first, because he had died on the steps, and second because Stakar and his band had taken out all of the troops that were meant to trap the Guardians.

In the clearing behind the base they rendezvoused with Stakar and his clan.

"I have to say that was the quickest neutralization of a threat I've seen" Stakar congratulated. It grieved him that his son was dead, but he wouldn't let it show. His son had truthfully died when he turned his mind to treachery.

The other Ravagers gathered around Kraglin, giving him their respect for his to the point method of dispatching Kohath. Evelina stood back, feeling rather proud, but also processing the fact that her brother was dead. In a flash, she caught sight of a movement in the bushes and launched herself between the target and the shot. She had seen the glow of a targeting device on Kraglin's back. As the shot struck her shoulder she was knocked off her feet and fell into Kraglin's back. A dozen Ravagers immediately went into the forest to hunt down whoever had fired the shot.

Stakar, the Guardians, and of course Kraglin, all gathered around Evelina. A little more shaken than when he had bandaged her leg, Kraglin proceeded to cut away the fabric over her shoulder and taking some cloth offered him by someone at hand he bound it up.

"You alright?" Peter asked as her eyes fluttered open.

"Yeah" she said faintly. "But why don't you have a shirt on?" he looked ridiculous in his jacket with no shirt.

It was then that Kraglin realized where the fabric to bind up her wound had come from.

"It's currently binding the hole in your shoulder" Stakar said kneeling down beside her.

Evelina looked around her, she saw Gamora by her side. "I guess I found the answer to the final question" she said. All of the others were confused, but Gamora understood, and she smiled.

They helped her onto the ship. Stakar and Aleta coming along.

"What the hell, Kraglin?" Rocket said when he saw her shoulder. "I thought I told you to look after her."

"Shut it, bandit hamster" she said as they set her on the couch. "I got this protecting him."

"So it really is his fault now!" Rocket said.

"Enough" Peter shouted "this is hardly the time for it" he reprimanded.

"I've had worse anyways" she said sitting up a little.

"You should still take it easy though" Stakar cautioned.

"Fine, if you insist" she said grudgingly.

Stakar took his wife to the side. "I don't want to leave her" he admitted, "not until she's recovered. It's not that I don't trust the Guardians to do everything for her but..."

"But she's your daughter and you just lost your son and you want to make sure she's okay" Aleta said softly.

"Yeah" he admitted.

"Well I guess the only thing to do is to ask them if you can stay, I'll pick you up whenever you're ready" she smiled at him. Part of her wanted to stay with Evelina too, but she knew her presence would be more useful amongst the Ravagers.

"Peter" came Stakar's bass voice, the man came over to him. "Would it be too much if I were to stay with her, just until she's healing and I know how well she'll be?"

Peter paused and gave him a smile "yeah, but you gotta cook seeing as she's injured" he chuckled.

"He's actually a really good cook" Aleta said from her position at his shoulder.

"Then hell yeah!" he grinned, throwing an arm over Stakar's shoulder. He told the others and Stakar told his wife goodbye. Aleta said farewell to her step-daughter and left to round up the Ravagers and head out. She knew both her husband and step-child would be safe in the esteemed company of the Guardians. She still worried about Stakar and how he would cope with seeing his son slain, traitor or no.


	17. Hang On Sloopy

Stakar stayed by his daughter's side almost 24/7. She was completely unused to being waited on so thoroughly. She had grown accustomed to taking care of herself while nursing her injuries. She learned that wounds healed much better when you weren't stressing them by too much exertion.

Peter walked through the lounge and found Stakar with a electronic library, reading to his daughter. Evelina didn't complain because it was nice, this was what she had longed for as an orphan in Carasca's home. She had wished for bedtime stories and an indulgent father who loved her endlessly. He had come later in life, but she appreciated his trying to make up for lost time.

Kraglin and all the others were a little surprised to find that Stakar was so learned. They had thought he was just another undereducated Ravager who had gotten by on brute force all his life. But as he sat there reading to his daughter they heard snippets of stories from all sorts of planets.

Peter paused as he heard bits of a story and recognized it as being from Earth. He silently sat down in the other corner of the room and listened. He seemed to remember his grandfather reading these books, he had told him that he'd let him read them when he got older.

Stakar was narrating the last line of the book in his rich bass voice "he drew a deep breath. 'Well I'm back' he said." And with that, he flicked off the monitor.

"That's it, I'm calling Groot an Ent from now on" she said with a chuckle.

"I honestly wanted to when I first met him" Stakar chuckled.

Peter sat after they got up and thought of his grandfather. Evelina came back into the room.

"What's up Pete?" she said sitting down on the footstool by his chair, looking up at him.

"I'm thinking maybe I should go back to Earth" he said.

"What?" she said startled.

"Not permanently, just for a visit" he explained. "I don't even know if my gramps is still alive."

"I think if you really feel you ought to, that you should" she said putting her hand comfortingly on his.

"But how will I explain being gone for so long?" he asked.

"If he loves you, which I'm sure he does" she smiled "then he won't care about that. He'll just be happy to know that you're safe after all."

"Well, I'm going to think about it" he said and got up.

As he made his way down the hall he heard Stakar and Kraglin's voices.

"So you haven't asked her yet?" Stakar said gravely.

"No sir, but I thought it was only right that I ask you first. I haven't even spoken with Peter about it yet." He saw Kraglin shake his head. "As if she wasn't intimidating enough on her own, she's got two of the most kickass men in the world looking out for her."

Peter came into the room and gave the startled Kraglin a clap on the shoulders. "Actually she has three" he said looking straight at Kraglin "plus one psycho raccoon."

"I assume you heard enough to know what we were talking about" Kraglin warbled.

Peter nodded.

"What do you think?" Stakar asked.

"I think that if there's someone qualified to look after her when we're not around it's probably him. And he seems to make her pretty happy" he chuckled. "After all, we're the easy ones to get past, it's getting her to accept you that's gonna be the real challenge."

"Well she did tell me that she loved me" he said bouncing on his feet with a wide grin.

"Knowing her, that's some damn fine progress you've made Kraglin" Peter congratulated. He was in a mix of emotions. Part of him resented Kraglin's interest in his baby sis, the other part, the part of him that had grown up watching Kraglin get pushed around was exultant with the fact that he might just claim the honor of husband to one of the most kickass women in the galaxy.

The two promised their silence and assistance in making the appropriate situation arise for him to make his offer.

Kraglin went out to check on Evelina in Peter and Stakar's absence.

"Hey" she said smiling at him as he sat down on the floor near the couch she was spread out on

"Hey" he smiled and gave her a kiss.

"I love having dad around, but between him and Peter I don't see near enough of you these days. Well not when it's just us" she said giving him a kiss.

"Well, we'll have to do something about that" he said with the dopey look he got in his eyes whenever he was looking at her.

"What did you have in mind?" she asked using his shoulder for her new pillow as her head hung off the side of the couch.

"Hadn't had any yet, but it would be nice for the two of us to get away, maybe after your shoulder is all mended" he mused.

"I guess" she smiled.

"You look funny upside down" he chuckled.

"You look funny upside down" she taunted.

"He looks funny upside up, what are you talking about sis?" Pete asked walking through on his way to the cockpit. "But he's right, you look funny... you look like a dolphin."

"A what?" she said sitting up and flying out of her chair after him.

Kraglin simply chuckled to himself. He loved her, he wanted to marry her, but he was completely okay with them staying part of the crew for the Guardians too. This was her family, and his too.

He didn't want to leave them, not unless she decided she did, which he seriously doubted she would. They were an odd little family unit, but family they were. He and Peter the two unofficial sons of Yondu, Evelina Pete's baby sis and his girlfriend. Then there was Gamora, Pete's girlfriend, and the rest were all important to them too. Drax was everyone's favorite brawler, Rocket their beloved psychopath, Groot, well Groot was the most lovable of all of them, and Mantis was like the damsel they all felt the need to protect. She was so gentle and innocent that to not want to protect her seemed inhuman.

He'd be content being their backup pilot for the rest of their existence, especially if he managed to convince Evelina to be by his side.

There was the alternate side, what if she said no? How would that affect their relationship, and the cohesion of the entire family unit that was their crew? He decided that if she said no, he'd find an excuse to leave, maybe take Stakar up on his offer of joining his Ravager clan.

He went out into the cockpit and watched the interaction between her and the crew. This was home, home for both of them. He wanted to stay here, with her, forever. He went over and flipped on some music. Peter smiled appreciatively. Despite her shoulder Evelina insisted that Kraglin dance with her. The couple was observed by their friends with an eye of understanding. They were more in love than they knew, but their faces certainly showed it.

A medium paced song came on and to everyone's surprise, Stakar asked to dance with his daughter. The surprise was at how agile the burly Ravager was. He could put Peter to shame if it came to it.

"Must run in the family" Gamora observed as the two of them danced.

"It certainly does" Stakar said as he gracefully spun his daughter around "her mother was a great dancer too." As he pulled her back in he told her quietly "she's actually the one that taught me how to dance."

The time came for Stakar to return to his life with his clan. Evelina was mostly healed from her injury. The two of them had had long talks about the passing of Kohath. Their silent grief coming out in how their words were spoken. He had betrayed both of them. Aleta grew restless, wanting her husband by her side, she knew the betrayal and death of his son weighed on him more than he would even let her or Evelina see.

It was with joy that the two reunited, the Ravagers and the Guardians spending the majority of the day in each other's company. Farewells were said and Stakar very quietly wished Kraglin the best of luck. He at last understood how much he meant to his daughter, and if she loved him so, and made her happy, it pleased him as well. He still didn't quite see what she saw in him, but did that matter? What had Elena, or Aleta, seen in him? Wasn't it the guys job to be a puzzle to everyone who knew the girl as to why they were together?


End file.
